Opinion - America has a fentanyl and human trafficking crisis. We must secure our financial borders to fix it
Drug cartels and trafficking organizations don't just rely on smuggling routes; they depend on financial systems that allow them to launder massive amounts of illicit profits with little oversight. The Trump administration recently took a bold step by designating certain drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist organizations. This significant move signals a clear recognition: stopping traffickers means following the money.
For one, it raises the stakes for financial institutions to take their anti-money laundering responsibilities seriously — TD Bank got hit last year with a historic $3 billion in U.S. fines, in part for contributing to the fentanyl and synthetic drug crisis. Additionally, the new designation will give U.S. law enforcement a stronger political mandate to 'follow the money' to stop the cartels. Canada is now following suit.
Yet even as we raise the stakes abroad, the United States has held the door open to the world's dirty money. For years, our nation has been one of the easiest places on the globe to set up anonymous shell companies, making it a prime destination for drug traffickers looking to hide their profits. Ample evidence shows that fentanyl networks and trafficking cartels have relied on anonymous U.S. companies to perpetrate their lethal schemes. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted in a recent interview that in some cases, traffickers and their money launderers set up 'shell companies, to hide their profits and be able to distribute the funds they have.'
Congress took action to address money laundering entities in 2021 by passing the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which requires certain companies to disclose their true owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This law, passed under the first Trump administration, marked the most significant update to U.S. anti-money laundering law in two decades.
Most notably, if implemented correctly, federal, state and local law enforcement would have access to vital information on the beneficial owners of these formerly anonymous companies. Prior to this, law enforcement investigations into the financing of these trafficking and drug networks were derailed by layers of corporate secrecy.
But today, enforcement of this critical anti-trafficking tool is at risk, facing opposition from some business groups and lawmakers who want to weaken its implementation. Worse still, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced it will notenforce key parts of the CTA. This is an alarming reversal that directly undercuts law enforcement's ability to fight trafficking and fentanyl distribution.
At a time when traffickers are growing more sophisticated, we cannot afford to let them exploit loopholes in our financial system. Effective efforts to stop fentanyl and traffickers require fully implementing the CTA and fully funding FinCEN's efforts to track the illicit financial flows fueling the fentanyl crisis. What's more, this law assists the administration in continuing its work building robust relationships with our neighbors to support law enforcement cooperation and information sharing to dismantle these transnational crime operations.
Our government recognizes the need to work with Canada and Mexico to crack down on the financial enablers of drug and human trafficking. Failing to enforce the beneficial ownership information requirements of the CTA, as announced by the Department of Treasury last week, is a significant step back in our fight to improve public safety.
Other nations are stepping up. Canada already requires disclosures similar to the Corporate Transparency Act, Mexico has anti-money laundering measures that generate crucial financial data ripe for analysis.
With proper enforcement, the United States can lead a regional effort to choke off the flow of criminal proceeds and dismantle these dangerous transnational networks. But if we abandon our own enforcement tools, we make America the soft target. We invite cartels and traffickers to hide their profits here, undermining the very border security and law enforcement efforts we claim to champion.
Stopping trafficking means going after the money. It means equipping our law enforcement agencies with every available tool — including the CTA. Tariffs alone won't stop trafficking. Increasing border security alone won't stop fentanyl. But making it harder for criminals to both profit and move their money? That's where it hurts. Follow the money. Secure America's financial borders and bring these criminals to justice.
Frank Russo is vice president of Modern Fortis Public Safety Strategies and the director of the CPAC's Center for Combating Human Trafficking. Nelson Bunn is the executive director of the National District Attorneys Association.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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