The White House, this Saturday.Patrick Semansky / AP
Security forces intercepted a package addressed to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, which contained traces of ricin, a powerful poison that can be deadly.
The FBI and the Secret Service (the presidential police) confirmed the finding in a statement sent to the US media.
According to sources cited by
The Wall Street Journal
and
The Washington Post, they
assured that the shipment comes from Canada.
There were no further details on Saturday noon.
Ricin is a poison derived from castor beans that can be presented in powder, pellets or dissolved in water, according to the website of the United States Center for Disease Control.
Its effects vary depending on whether it has been inhaled, ingested, or injected.
Symptoms are seen within hours of exposure.
It affects the lungs, liver and kidneys and can end up causing death within 72 hours.
Experiments with ricin as a biological weapon date back to the 1940s.
In the last decade there have been several attempts at terrorist attacks with envelopes containing ricin.
In 2013, the White House intercepted two ricin letters addressed to then-President Barack Obama.
Another similar attack was directed against the mayor of New York, billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
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