Who is the Lord of Fentanyl responsible for 100 deaths due to contaminated vials?

The case of the contaminated fentanyl that caused the death of more than a hundred patients in hospitals and clinics across the country has become a symbol of the contrast between two management models: that of Kirchnerist impunity and that of decisive action by the current government.

The epicenter of the plot is Ariel García Furfaro, a businessman linked to Lázaro Báez and beneficiary of state contracts during the K era, who went from being a greengrocer to a multimillionaire pharmaceutical entrepreneur in just a few years. Furfaro is owner of HLB Pharma Group S.A., the laboratory that manufactured the batch of contaminated fentanyl that resulted in more than 100 deaths. He also controls Laboratorios Ramallo S.A., from where the deadly substance was produced and distributed.

During Kirchnerism, HLB Pharma operated without ANMAT inspections since February 2020. It was not until September 2024, under the management of Dr. Mario Lugones as Minister of Health, that a key inspection was ordered at the Ramallo laboratory. Just two hours after receiving the result, in February 2025, the head of ANMAT, Agustina Bisio, disqualified the plant, shutting down its production three months before the first death occurred.

That same year, in March, ANMAT banned the distribution of batch 60000 of "Propofol HLB, injectable IV emulsion", preventing hundreds of potential deaths in simple operations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Security began investigations for false documentation in RENPRE, while ARCA filed aggravated tax evasion charges against the laboratory.

The presidential spokesperson was categorical: "The fentanyl man must go to jail". The official statement emphasized: "We've done what no other government has done: shut down and report Ariel García Furfaro's laboratory, a corrupt businessman, friend and beneficiary of the political caste that ruined the country and filled the public administration with cronies and corrupt individuals in every area."

It is no minor detail that the main client of HLB Pharma was the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health, headed by Nicolás Kreplak, brother of federal judge Ernesto Kreplak, who is investigating the case. "Therefore, in light of the overwhelming evidence, if in the coming days Judge Kreplak doesn't order the immediate arrest of the laboratory owner, Ariel García Furfaro, the National Government will challenge him, presuming a conflict of interest resulting from his family connection with Nicolás Kreplak.", the statement warns.

Meanwhile, Furfaro's maneuvers do not cease. Despite the ban imposed by ANMAT, last Thursday he personally appeared at the National Commercial Court No. 28 to request certificates allowing him to manufacture other medications, corresponding to the bankrupt Nexo Pharmaceutical Group. The regulatory agency had already informed the court, on June 2, about the current disqualification and the resignation of the technical director of HLB Pharma, which leaves the company without legal capacity to produce.