DEA warns of proliferation of 'drug cocktails' that include fentanyl

Immigration, economy, bureaucracy, criminality ... There are many problems to try to solve that President Donald Trump wrote down in his notebook before returning to the White House. Just like narco-trafficking, one of the greatest threats facing national security and that of Americans.

Among all the drugs being fought against, one figure stands out above the rest, fentanyl, which has claimed so many lives, not only in the country, but also in the rest of the world. Despite this, the latest news transmitted by official sources project a hopeful message.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published the National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), a report on the scope of drug trafficking and the progress made in the fight against drugs. In it, the agency integrated into the Department of Justice (DOJ) detailed that overdose deaths plummeted by more than 20% in 2024.

However, from the DEA, as from the rest of the agencies, they are aware that there is still a long way to go to end what they call a "pandemic."

"This year’s report indicates progress in the fight against fentanyl and also outlines the increasing challenges we face with the changing landscape of the synthetic drug crisis," DEA acting administrator Robert Murphy noted. "The adulterating of fentanyl with highly potent, dangerous chemicals reminds us that this fight is far from over."

Alert for "drug cocktails" with fentanyl

With this last conclusion, Murphy refers, among other things, to synthetic narcotics. Or, as they are commonly known, designer drugs. And fentanyl is one of them: an opioid that drug traffickers mix with other illegal—or legal—substances to amplify their effects, which implies that they are therefore more harmful and dangerous.

The DEA reflected that, in its testing, it found "a downward trend in the purity of fentanyl." Likewise, it also found that it is more frequent to find a greater number of different "drug cocktails" —as this is how the mixing of two substances is referred to—on the streets.

"The mixing of illicit substances, known as drug cocktails, is becoming more common. Recent data from the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) indicated one in four submissions of cocaine and one in eight submissions of methamphetamine also included fentanyl. This is another indication that the drug landscape is as dangerous as ever," the DEA explained.

The fight against narcotics

Among others, one of the strong measures the Trump Administration put in place to fight drugs was designating certain criminal groups as terrorist organizations including the Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Nueva Jalisco Cartel, the Gulf Cartel and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which not only engage in murder, kidnapping  extortion, but also in drug trafficking.

"DEA and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners must continue to adapt and work together to attack global drug trafficking organizations at every level. By joining forces to reduce supply and demand, we can destroy the drug trafficking networks and achieve a safer and healthier future for all Americans," Murphy said, after the DEA listed each and every one of the terrorist organizations exposed above in its report.

In terms of numbers, it was not the DEA, but Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency that seized 113.88 tons of drugs at ports of entry into the country in the first six months of the current fiscal year (between Oct. 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025). Regarding fentanyl, it seized 6,950 pounds.

A historic operation against fentanyl

In early May, the DOJ—through Attorney General Pam Bondi—reported that the DEA conducted a historic macro-operation against fentanyl in five states - New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Nevada: authorities arrested 16 people and seized more than 900 pounds in pills and about 25 pounds of fentanyl powder, plus 77 pounds of methamphetamine, 16 pounds of cocaine, 10 pounds of heroin, $5 million in cash and 49 firearms.