WASHINGTON.- Donald Trump, president of the United Statessigned an executive order this Monday to declare fentanyl, a drug that has wreaked havoc on the American population in recent years, “like a weapon of mass destruction”.
The American president declared at an event held in the white house that “today I take another step to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl that is flooding our country.”
“With this historic executive order that I will sign today, we will formally classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destructionwhich is what it really is.”
Trump points to 300,000 deaths from fentanyl
Trump explained that “if this were a war, it would be one of the worst wars; I think in the last five or six years between 200,000 and 300,000 people a year (because of fentanyl). They talk about 100,000, which is a lot of people, but the number is much higher.”
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)more than 250,000 people died between 2021 and 2023 alone.
The above caused by overdoses related to synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl.
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Likewise, Trump announced the signing of the order at an event held to honor military personnel for their work defending the border with Mexico.
The president declared that “there is no doubt that the adversaries of the United States They are trafficking fentanyl to the United Statesin part because they want to kill Americans.”
Close collaboration between China and the US
He also highlighted that during his mandate, according to him, “a 50% reduction in the amount of fentanyl that crosses the border.”
Likewise, he assured that China is “collaborating closely” with the US “to reduce the number and quantity of fentanyl sent.”
And he added that “we have managed to reduce the figure to a much smaller number. It is not satisfactory, but it will soon be.”
“Illicit fentanyl is more like a chemical weapon than a narcotic” its production and sale “by foreign terrorist organizations and cartels finances the operations of these entities, which include assassinations, terrorist acts and insurgencies around the world, and allows them to undermine our national security and welfare of our nation.”
Several secretaries are called to fight against fentanyl
It should be noted that the order instructs several Cabinet secretaries to strengthen the fight against fentanyl trafficking.
Additionally, it states that “the Secretary of War, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, will update all directives relating to the response of the Armed Forces to chemical incidents in the country to include the threat of illicit fentanyl.”
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Warhas been in the spotlight in recent weeks due to the controversial bombings that he himself has coordinated on what Washington He assures that they are boats that traffic narcotics from Venezuelawhich the South American country rejects.