Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that poses a serious threat to national security, and US President Donald Trump issued an executive order designating it as a weapon of mass destruction. He also promised to step up efforts against the trafficking networks that are causing the epidemic.
“We’re officially classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction with this historic executive order, which I will sign today,” Trump declared. “This is better than any bomb.”
According to Trump, the number of fentanyl deaths is much higher than what is typically reported. He described the terrible effects on American families, noting that “two hundred to three hundred thousand people die every year that we know of.”
The President connected hostile actors who target the United States with the trafficking of fentanyl. He stated, “America’s enemies are trafficking fentanyl into the United States in part because they want to kill Americans.”
Trump pointed to significant drug seizures as proof of advancement. “We executed the largest fentanyl bust in US history in May, seizing three million fentanyl pills all at once,” he stated, noting that an additional 1.7 million pills were found in Colorado last month.
He claimed that the amount of fentanyl coming into the nation has drastically decreased. Trump stated, “We’ve also achieved a 50% drop in the amount of fentanyl coming across the border,” and claimed China was “working with us very closely” to stop the flow.
Trump emphasized that although fentanyl has legitimate medical use, it has become a deadly weapon due to illicit production and mixing. “It becomes bad when you mix it with certain things,” he stated. “That’s what’s happening in Mexico.”
Trump claimed that drug gangs posed a direct military threat to the United States when he unveiled the fentanyl order along with more extensive border and security measures.
Synthetic opioids have caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths over the previous ten years, making the US fentanyl crisis one of the greatest public health problems in contemporary American history. Trafficking lines that connect China, Latin America, and international supply chains have proven difficult for successive administrations to stop.
India has kept a close eye on global initiatives to control precursor chemicals and fight transnational drug networks, working with the US and other allies on drug enforcement while striking a balance between public health and pharmaceutical concerns.
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