Fentanyl use increased significantly under the current Biden Administration. Between 2020 and 2021, synthetic opioid overdose deaths in the United States increased by 23%, from 57,834 to 71,238, according to an article published by FOX10. In Arizona alone, in the same time period, synthetic opioid overdose deaths increased from 1,519 to 1,791 cases.
Fentanyl crisis
This year, the DEA and its law enforcement partners seized more than 10.2 million fentanyl pills and approximately 980 pounds of fentanyl powder from May 23 through September 8, 2022.
This amount of fentanyl removed from the streets during this surge equates to more than 36 million lethal doses which were taken away from the illegal drug supply. The DEA reported that during 2021 they seized an amount of Fentanyl equivalent to a lethal dose for all Americans.
The Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco Cartel, New Generation and social networks
35 of the drug seizure cases are directly linked to one or both of the major Mexican cartels responsible for the majority of fentanyl in the United States: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation ( CJNG). In addition, 129 investigations are linked to social media platforms, including Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and TikTok. These results are based on the work of the DEA's One Pill Can Kill Phase II initiative.
"Across the country, fentanyl is devastating families and communities, and we know that violent and criminal drug cartels are responsible for this crisis," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "The Department of Justice, including the extraordinary professionals at DEA, is working to disrupt and dismantle the operations of these cartels, remove deadly fentanyl from our communities, and save American lives," said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
The Department of Justice itself noted that fentanyl continues to be the deadliest drug threat facing the United States. In 2021, a record number of Americans, 107,622 to be exact, died from drug poisoning or overdose. 66% of these deaths can be attributed to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
China and Mexican cartels have "declared war" on the U.S.
Texas Republican Congressman Brian Babin condemned that China and Mexican cartels have "declared war" on the United States with fentanyl trafficking at the border. Babin said in an interview with Just The News that we are facing a "chemical war" that causes the deaths of hundreds of citizens every day.
A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) report identified China as the main source of trafficking fentanyl into the United States. Together with Mexico (and gradually India), they are the main countries sourcing this potent drug.
According to the DEA report, China provides the fentanyl and the pathways for the drug, and the cartels smuggle it into the United States and other countries. Therefore, in statements to Just The News, Congressman Brian Babin pointed out that this drug trafficking "is a chemical war against the United States and there should be some real accountability for those two entities," referring to the countries where the drug is produced and distributed.
In recent weeks, the voices of concern about fentanyl entering the country have multiplied. A few days ago, a group of 18 prosecutors asked President Joe Biden to consider this drug as a weapon of mass destruction.
Prosecutors stated that fentanyl is claiming a record number of lives across the country and continues to flow freely across the southwest border. In July alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 2,100 pounds of the substance; enough to kill nearly 500 million Americans. "Because of the prevalence and low cost of production, there is concern that bad people are weaponizing fentanyl.” This group of both Democratic and Republican prosecutors said:
We must not stand idly by until a terrorist decides to inflict harm using this substance on a large group of Americans; our fellow Americans are already dying from this poison.
