President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, the latest move in his effort to curtail the flow of illicit drugs into the country.
Fentanyl, a chemically made drug, possesses a lethal dose of two milligrams. The Drug Enforcement Agency seized more than 60 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and close to 8,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, equivalent to more than 380 million lethal doses of fentanyl. In 2023, more than 107,000 people lost their lives to a drug overdose, with nearly 70% of those deaths attributed to opioids such as fentanyl.
“No bomb does what this is doing,” Trump said during the signing.
On Monday, December 15, President Donald Trump declared fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction (CNN Newsource)
By classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, Trump gives the government greater purview to go after countries and criminals involved with the manufacturing and distribution of the drug. Trump expressed that there is serious concern for “the potential for fentanyl to be weaponized for concentrated, large-scale terror attacks” against the United States.
Trump has made targeting drug cartels a top priority in his second administration. On his first day in office, he classified several drug cartels to be foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
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His administration continues its campaign against suspected drug smuggling boats operating in the Caribbean with a total of 22 strikes on 23 boats since September.
