WASHINGTON – President Trump signed an executive order classifying the street drug fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
“The manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, primarily performed by organized criminal networks, threatens our national security. It also fuels lawlessness in our hemisphere and at our border,” the proclamation declares.
During an event on Monday, December 15, in the Oval Office, the president expressed his concerns for the American public. He stated that the carnage fentanyl has created in American families is worse than U.S. deaths in several wars.
“Two to three hundred thousand people die every year, that we know of, so we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of Mass destruction,” the president said.
The executive order grants the U.S. government additional legal firepower. It aims to combat the illegal trafficking of the substance.
It also states that transnational criminal organizations use their profits to fund activities that weaken U.S. national security. The Trump administration has classified these organizations as foreign terrorist groups.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl killed around 48 thousand people in the US last year. This fact goes against the president’s previous claims. Additionally, it is a 27 percent reduction from the year prior.
The order arises as part of an expansive militarization of the US war against street drugs. This expansion included military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats and the aforementioned classification of the criminal groups.
According to an analysis by NPR, the U.S. has carried out a minimum of 22 attacks on alleged drug boats this year. These attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific near Venezuela have left more than 80 people dead.
Trump defends the strikes, claiming they’re making Americans safer.
“Every boat that gets hit, we save 25,000 American lives, and when you view it that way, you don’t mind,” he argues.
Despite frequent opposition from policy researchers and experts, the Trump administration is optimistic about the militarization, asserting that it will eventually lead to fewer drug deaths.
