Featured

House Foreign Affairs Committee Passes Salazar's DISPOSE Act

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) scored a win this week as the the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed her DISPOSE Act. The Destruction Initiative for Stored Precursors Overseas and Safe Enforcement (DISPOSE) Act will create fentanyl and precursor chemical destruction facilities in three drug trafficking choke points: Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.

The bipartisan legislation, introduced alongside Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R), passed this week with a unanimous vote.

Last year, Customs and Border Protection seized over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl at the Southern Border. This fentanyl is created by using Chinese chemicals that are shipped to the Americas. They are then turned into drugs in clandestine lands, and they are trafficked into the U.S. by Mexican cartels through drug mules.

Because of this, the DISPOSE Act seeks to protect Americans by cutting off their supply and targeting the precursor chemicals foreign criminal cartels use to produce fentanyl and ensuring that they can be destroyed and disposed of well before they reach the United States.

In a statement, Rep. Salazar detailed that "Fentanyl is killing thousands of Americans and we can no longer afford to sit still as our enemies flood our communities with these dangerous drugs." "The DISPOSE Act will combat the crisis by working with our partners in Latin America to destroy these drugs well before they cross our borders," she added.

Rep. Castro further detailed that "in San Antonio and communities across the world, families have endured unimaginable tragedy as a result of the fentanyl trade." In an effort to combat the growing fentanyl crisis, he went on to explain that the bipartisan bill "is an important step forward to support our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere as they work to curb the trafficking of fentanyl within their own nations."

The DISPOSE Act will establish the Precursor Chemical Destruction Initiative to fight drug trafficking alongside the United States' partners in the Western Hemisphere.

The initiative promises to do the following:

  • Increase rates of seizure and destruction of listed chemicals in beneficiary countries;
  • Alleviate the backlog of seized chemicals and dispose them in an environmentally safe and effective manner;
  • Ensure that the seized chemicals are not reintroduced into the illicit drug production network within beneficiary countries;
  • Free up storage space for future chemical seizures within beneficiary countries; and
  • Reduce the chemicals’ negative environmental impact.
Daniel Molina

Daniel Molina is an award-winning senior reporter based in Miami. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Florida International University.

Recent Posts

Donald Trump Offers UT Austin Funding Under Political Compact

President Donald Trump's (R) administration is offering the University of Texas access to increased federal…

2 days ago

Megachurch Pastor Robert Morris Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Abuse

Robert Morris, the influential Texas pastor who founded Gateway Church, pleaded guilty this week to…

2 days ago

Fentanyl Deaths in Texas Dropped 42% Following the 'One Pill Kills' Campaign

Newly released data from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) shows fentanyl-related poisoning…

2 days ago

Ken Paxton Orders Cities to Halt Potentially Illegal Property Tax Hikes

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has directed four towns, La Marque, Odessa, Tom Bean, and…

2 days ago

LONESTAR — 10.3.2025 — Gregg Abbott Launches Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office — Matt Gaetz Endorse Chip Roy for Texas Attorney General — and More...

Greg Abbott Announces Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced this week the…

2 days ago

No Work, No Pay: The Debate Over Congressional Salaries During Government Shutdown

As the federal government officially shuts down, many Americans are asking: Should members of Congress…

3 days ago