Treasury Department sanctions companies in China and Mexico for links to fentanyl production

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department announced that it has imposed sanctions on 17 individuals and entities in China and Mexico for being linked to the illicit production and distribution of fentanyl-laced pills.

According to the U.S. agency, the penalties target seven entities and six individuals based in China and one entity and three individuals in Mexico who are directly or indirectly involved in the "sale of pill press machines, die molds, and other equipment used to impress counterfeit trade markings of legitimate pharmaceuticals onto illicitly produced pills, often laced with fentanyl, frequently destined for U.S. markets."

The Department explained that the penalties are aimed at "every stage of the deadly supply chain fueling the surge in fentanyl poisonings and deaths across the country."

According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the sanctions were coordinated with the Mexican government as part of a plan to save lives by disrupting fentanyl supplies worldwide.

Increase in fentanyl death

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report that revealed that fentanyl-related deaths have quadrupled between 2016 and 2021.

Another report in JAMA Pediatrics found that more than 5,000 children and adolescents have died from fentanyl overdoses in the past two decades, and most of these deaths are not even "intentional."

"Among younger children, access to pills or substances laced with fentanyl that are left within their reach is the main culprit. ... For older adolescents, the culprit is more likely a lack of awareness that the pill they are intentionally taking contains fentanyl," the study noted.