President-elect Donald Trump has said stopping fentanyl smuggling across the southern border is a top priority for his administration. Promise to impose 25% tariff His choice would be to ban all imports from Mexico until the flow of “drugs, especially fentanyl, and illegal immigrants” into the United States was stopped.
trump has claimed Fentanyl overdoses kill 300,000 people each year, while he said the death toll is “likely much higher.” Upcoming “Border Jar” tom homan alleged In an interview with Fox News this week mexican cartel “Fentanal has killed a quarter million Americans.”
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl have become the main cause overdose deaths Since 2016, it has been devastating communities across the U.S. and creating a major public health challenge, according to National Institutes of HealthAuthorities say Mexican cartels are the main source of fentanyl produced in the US.
However, both Trump and Homan cite inflated figures, and Trump often makes a false connection between the flow of migrants crossing the border illegally and the flow of fentanyl.
according to data More than 334,000 people in the US died from drug overdoses containing synthetic opioids, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. like fentanylOver a period of approximately 10 years from 2013 to 2022. As of July, the CDC's latest provisional data More than 73,000 fentanyl overdose deaths were recorded in 2023.
According to the , more than 86% of those convicted of fentanyl trafficking during the 2023 fiscal year were US citizens. US Sentencing Commissionresearcher Tell Drug trafficking organizations hire American citizens because they are less subject to scrutiny.
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
fentanyl crisis
FentanylA synthetic opioid approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a pain reliever and anesthetic, it is about 50 times more powerful than heroin, according to Drug Enforcement AdministrationThe agency said it is often mixed with heroin and other substances and has been found in pills that mimic pharmaceutical drugs such as oxycodone.
mexican cartel The main source of finished fentanyl is distributed in the US, with China being the main supplier. of precursor chemicals And according to a report released in May, cartels use pill presses to produce drugs DEA,
Department of Homeland Security found By December 2023, more than 90% of fentanyl has been stopped at ports of entry, which are designated areas where people can legally enter the country.
Customs and Border Protection Data analyzed The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found that 80% of people caught with fentanyl at ports of entry from 2019 to 2024 were US citizens.
An analysis of CDC data showed that opioid overdose deaths increased by 56% year-over-year in 2020, and then increased by 22% in 2021, when most migrants were banned from crossing the border. Had gone. title 42A pandemic-era solution.
Combating cross-border drug trafficking
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has urged Trump against it Vowed to retaliate with his own, addressing migration and drug consumption to the US through tariffs.
cbp informed Fentanyl seizures were recorded in 2023 and 2024 and in April Operation Plaza Spike was launched, a multi-agency effort targeting Mexican cartels and their logistics centers to disrupt fentanyl trafficking.
Drug policy experts say it may be difficult to stop all drugs from being brought across the border.
“We want to make it difficult for criminal organizations to run their businesses, but we have to be realistic about how difficult it will be to make it truly impossible,” said Dr. Jonathan Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Information. Systems and Public Policy. “Fentanyl is so exceptionally powerful that very small quantities can be sold for huge amounts of money.”
According to Caulkins, stemming the flow of synthetic drugs is also difficult because smugglers can easily replace any drugs that are lost.
“If we prioritize attacking the most violent and corrupt organizations, we can reduce the harm that the overall drug supply chain creates in a case that would be difficult to restrict the total amount of fentanyl coming into the country.” Also worth the effort,” Caulkins said.