WASHINGTON – On Monday, President Trump declared that fentanyl would soon be designated a “weapon of mass destruction” as part of a renewed effort to fight drug smuggling.
In the Oval Office, he warned that foreign adversaries were shipping the drug to the United States with the intent to kill Americans, comparing the situation to a potential war.
He said the trafficking of fentanyl, which has killed nearly 330,000 people in the last five years, is akin to the opium imports that once devastated China and sparked the Opium Wars.
During the same ceremony, Trump handed out medals to U.S. troops patrolling the U.S.–Mexican border. He highlighted that the drug, lethal in minuscule amounts, often crosses the border or travels through international mail and shipping lanes.
While fentanyl does have legitimate medical uses, the president stressed that its illicit distribution poses a grave threat.
“You can look throughout history. Look at China, when they were loaded up with drugs, they were suffering greatly, and others were able to take them over. And other countries also, they’re trying to drug out our country,” Trump said.
The administration has yet to detail the specific legal implications of the new classification, though it could result in steeper penalties for traffickers.
Trump also pointed out that China is the main source of illegal fentanyl and mentioned his October meeting with President Xi Jinping, who has pledged to curb the trade. Xi has previously made similar commitments to both Trump and President Joe Biden.
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