Trump classifies fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction”

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an executive order this Monday to classify fentanyl, a drug 50 times more addictive and powerful than heroin, as a “weapon of mass destruction.” “No bomb does what this is doing. 200,000, 300,000 people die every year, as far as we know,” the president said, in relation to tens of thousands of deaths that the opioid causes annually due to overdose. This designation, which the Republican has called “historic,” drastically expands the powers of the United States Government to combat synthetic opioids, according to news agencies.

“This critical step frees up all the tools to combat the cartels and foreign networks responsible for flooding communities with this deadly substance, the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 45,” the White House stressed in a statement.

The signing of this executive order is one more step in the tightening of the anti-drug policy in which the Trump Administration has been immersed since Trump’s return to the White House. One of the focuses has been the targeting of Mexican cartels, which in February it classified as foreign terrorist organizations, a measure that has opened controversy over the possible US military incursion into Mexico.

The Mexican Government has categorically rejected that possibility; Washington has ruled it out, although it is holding out its hand. “If they want help, they have to ask for it,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And he added: “We are willing to give them all the help they need. Obviously, they do not want us to intervene. We are not going to take unilateral measures or send US forces to Mexico.”

But Mexico has not been the only objective in this fight against drug trafficking. The US Government has also set its sights on the waters of the Caribbean Sea, where more than 80 people have been murdered in different attacks launched by the army on alleged drug boats. Several Democratic congressmen have already warned about the possibility that one of the attacks, ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, could have violated international norms and be considered a war crime. Trump has assured that “soon” ground attacks will also begin in this “campaign against drug trafficking.”