3 months ago
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(NewsNation) — As the Trump medication continues to prioritize cracking down connected the question of drugs crossed the confederate border, Mexican cause cartels person pivoted how they determination fentanyl into the United States, often by pairing it with different illicit drugs specified arsenic cocaine,
Since aboriginal September, the U.S. subject has carried retired astatine slightest a twelve targeted strikes connected suspected cause boats. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest strike, which officials said killed 4 suspected narco-terrorists connected a vessel traveling successful the eastbound Pacific.
In June, Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, which is aimed astatine lessening the magnitude of fentanyl entering the United States. The instrumentality besides toughens penalties for those convicted of trafficking drugs into the U.S.
“We’ll beryllium getting the cause dealers, pushers, and peddlers disconnected our street, and we volition not remainder until we person ended the cause overdose epidemic,” Trump said astatine the time. “And it’s been getting a small spot better, but it’s horrible.”
However, fentanyl is present being moved into the U.S. either by being paired with drugs specified arsenic cocaine oregon is being utilized to lace different narcotics, which cuts down connected the chances of users dying from an overdose. (More than 48,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses successful 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a roundtable connected transgression cartels with President Donald Trump successful the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, successful Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Jesus Romero told NewsNation that aft cartels began taking much vigor for overdose deaths, officials wrong those organizations figured retired a safer mode of moving fentanyl crossed the border.
“Cocaine is the conveyance to ingest fentanyl,” Romero said.
China is the superior transporter of precursor chemicals into the United States, but drugs are being flown by level to Mexico. From there, cartel members are sending the aforesaid planes to Venezuela to prime up cocaine, which would past beryllium sent to Central America and Mexico by boat.
Mexican officials person partnered with the Trump administration to bounds the magnitude of fentanyl crossing the border. In 1 enforcement effort, known arsenic Operation Northern Border, astir 236,000 pounds of drugs were seized, including much than 1,000 pounds of fentanyl. In different national efforts successful places specified arsenic Nogales, Arizona, a cardinal pills were seized successful September implicit conscionable 1 month.
The travel of drugs successful that larboard of introduction has slowed by arsenic overmuch arsenic fractional implicit the past year. Sources, including Romero, told NewsNation that implicit the past 4 years, national agents were inundated with migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico borderline illegally, galore of whom were smuggling precursor chemicals into the United States.
That allowed cartel members moving successful each 50 states to marque the drugs wrong the country, mostly successful portion owed to the magnitude of chemicals that went undetected, sources said. Drugs similar cocaine and methamphetamine were laced with fentanyl, giving the idiosyncratic a amended accidental of surviving.
But that has led to aggregate smugglers being caught successful San Diego and Florida, wherever Customs and Border Protection agents are partnering with different organizations to prehend drugs similar cocaine that negociate to transverse the borderline and into the United States for cartel use.
