Latest news with #MexicanCartels
Fox News
6 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
PAM BONDI & ROBERT MURPHY: Team Trump is fighting deadly drug cartels to save American lives
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are dedicated to upholding the rule of law and championing the safety of the American people against deadly, illegal drugs. No drug continues to pose a greater threat to our nation than fentanyl — a synthetic opioid so powerful, deadly and pervasive that it is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. But we cannot ignore the growing supply of highly addictive and dangerous methamphetamine. The Mexican cartels have created a vast global supply chain, sourcing precursor chemicals from countries like China, manufacturing fentanyl and methamphetamine in secret labs in Mexico, and smuggling them across the border into the United States. These drugs are flooding our communities, and their impact is catastrophic. Current CDC data estimates that 82,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year — nearly 49,000 from fentanyl and more than 30,000 from psychostimulants, including meth. While we've seen a decline in overdose deaths in recent months, we cannot ignore the threat of fentanyl, often found in other drugs and fake pills. The cartels are also producing methamphetamine pills made to look like Adderall or MDMA, drugs popular with young adults. Fentanyl and methamphetamine together are toxic evidence that the cartels have no value for human life. DEA's mission is clear, and it is confronting this crisis head on. DEA is second to none at developing, interpreting and acting on intelligence. In full coordination, the DOJ is fully committed to prosecuting criminals who are in possession of these dangerous and deadly drugs — including any fentanyl-related substance — to the fullest extent of the law. Under President Donald J. Trump's leadership, the DOJ and the DEA are executing Operation Take Back America, an aggressive campaign to dismantle the criminal organizations responsible for trafficking fentanyl and other synthetic opioids — an unprecedented move to take back our communities and save American lives. Since January 20, DEA has seized over 44 million fentanyl pills and 4,500 pounds of fentanyl powder, representing over 180 million lethal doses and over 68,000 pounds of methamphetamine. Every seizure is a life saved. Every arrest removes a trafficker from the chain of distribution. Every operation sends a message: the United States will not tolerate this attack on its citizens. Our campaign is lawful, methodical and relentless. The DEA operates under a robust framework of legal authorities designed to confront the full spectrum of drug-related crimes. Title 21 authorizes the federal prosecution of drug manufacturers and distributors. RICO statutes allow us to dismantle criminal enterprises. Asset forfeiture laws allow us to strip traffickers of the financial lifeblood of their operations. International extradition agreements ensure that no foreign-based trafficker is beyond the reach of American justice. Each tool is used in coordination with U.S. Attorneys' Offices, in full compliance with constitutional protections and federal evidentiary standards. To name just a few of the recent fentanyl and methamphetamine seizures in the country: Our campaign is lawful, methodical and relentless. The DEA operates under a robust framework of legal authorities designed to confront the full spectrum of drug-related crimes. Each of these operations highlights the critical need to continue attacking the drug supply chain at every level. Our strategy is not limited to arrests and seizures. On July 16, Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law, which will strengthen penalties for fentanyl dealers and prevent chemists from creating new synthetic compounds to circumvent prosecution. Under Trump's direction, the administration has revitalized interagency coordination. The DOJ and the DEA are working shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and federal prosecutors to ensure unified case development from interdiction to indictment. The president has also authorized the use of diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions and trade penalties to hold foreign nations accountable for the chemicals fueling this crisis. The DOJ is also prioritizing enhanced penalties for trafficking offenses involving serious bodily injury or death. We are prosecuting not just the dealers but the enablers, those who launder money, provide logistical support, or serve as brokers between chemical suppliers and cartels. If you profit from this poison, you will face the full force of American justice. As a result of Trump's designation of eight major cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, we are now deploying new tools and charging traffickers with material support to terrorism, a charge that carries up to life in prison. Lining the walls at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, are thousands of faces of those lost to fentanyl. These faces are a stark reminder of why we do this work. Each name, each story fuels our resolve to eliminate these cartels and criminal networks and protect our communities. President Trump has made it abundantly clear: the sovereignty of our nation begins with secure borders and safe communities. The era of open borders and drugs flowing across them is over. The federal government is back on offense. Our strategy is not limited to arrests and seizures. On July 16, Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law, which will strengthen penalties for fentanyl dealers and prevent chemists from creating new synthetic compounds to circumvent prosecution. The American people deserve a justice system that protects their families from the violence of drug trafficking and the horror of overdose death. That is what the DEA and DOJ are delivering. We will not rest until the cartels are crippled, their supply chain is broken and this epidemic has ended. This is a fight for our country, and we intend to win it. Robert Murphy is the acting administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, leading a workforce of nearly 9,000 public servants whose important work protects Americans from the dangers and violence associated with drug trafficking.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump claims China will soon execute fentanyl dealers
President Donald Trump said China would soon start executing fentanyl dealers, as he inked legislation he said would deal a 'righteous blow' to premature deaths in the U.S. The president signed new legislation to stiffen jail penalties for fentanyl traffickers amid the drug overdose epidemic that took over 48,000 American lives last year. China sends deadly synthetic opioid chemicals to Mexican cartels, who then press them into pills or add them in powder form to heroin and cocaine. Trump again vowed to take action while standing next to 'angel families' who have lost loved ones. 'I think we're going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country,' Trump said. He said China would take the action soon even as the countries work through a trade clash after Trump imposed sanctions. 'I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China, but I imposed a 20 percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl. And I call it a penalty. It's a penalty because China delivers much of the fentanyl,' Trump said. Trump said it would have happened sooner were it not for the 2020 election , which he again called 'rigged' despite losing to Joe Biden by 7 million votes. 'I believe that we would have had that deal long time ago. I shook hands with him, and that we had a rigged election, and we had somebody else come in and they didn't know anything about a deal for the death penalty,' Trump said, before referencing the China move. 'I believe that's going to happen soon,' he added. China already imposes the death penalty for certain drug offenses . The country has long been criticized for denying defendants' rights and transparency in its judicial system, with Amnesty International saying it executes thousands of people each year without saying how many. An Amnesty International report from April showed a 32 percent increase in executions worldwide during 2024, with 'thousands' in China. Trump himself has talked about using the death penalty to go after drug dealers in the U.S., and praised the mandatory minimum jail sentences that are part of the legislation he signed to permanently add fentanyl to Schedule 1 under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill he signed, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, got bipartisan support in Congress, although Trump signaled out Republican backers at the White House. 'It's a big deal, as they will tell you – meaning anyone caught trafficking these illicit poisons will be punished with a mandatory 10 year minimum sentence in prison. We'll be getting the drug dealers, pushers and peddlers off our street,' Trump said. After mentioning the China death penalty, Trump continued: 'I believe that's going to happen soon, but as of today, all fentanyl related substances will be banned forever, and those who traffic in these deadly poisons will be put behind bars for a very long period of time.' Back in February, Trump referenced the death penalty conversation he says he had with Xi while speaking to a group of governors. 'If you notice that every country that has the death penalty has no drug problem,' Trump said.
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump says China will start executing fentanyl dealers 'soon' as he vows revenge for victims
President Donald Trump said China would soon start executing fentanyl dealers, as he inked legislation he said would deal a 'righteous blow' to premature deaths in the U.S. The president signed new legislation to stiffen jail penalties for fentanyl traffickers amid the drug overdose epidemic that took over 48,000 American lives last year. China sends deadly synthetic opioid chemicals to Mexican cartels, who then press them into pills or add them in powder form to heroin and cocaine. Trump again vowed to take action while standing next to 'angel families' who have lost loved ones. 'I think we're going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country,' Trump said. He said China would take the action soon even as the countries work through a trade clash after Trump imposed sanctions. 'I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China, but I imposed a 20 percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl. And I call it a penalty. It's a penalty because China delivers much of the fentanyl,' Trump said. Trump said it would have happened sooner were it not for the 2020 election, which he again called 'rigged' despite losing to Joe Biden by 7 million votes. 'I believe that we would have had that deal long time ago. I shook hands with him, and that we had a rigged election, and we had somebody else come in and they didn't know anything about a deal for the death penalty,' Trump said, before referencing the China move. 'I believe that's going to happen soon,' he added. China already imposes the death penalty for certain drug offenses. The country has long been criticized for denying defendants' rights and transparency in its judicial system, with Amnesty International saying it executes thousands of people each year without saying how many. An Amnesty International report from April showed a 32 percent increase in executions worldwide during 2024, with 'thousands' in China. Trump himself has talked about using the death penalty to go after drug dealers in the U.S., and praised the mandatory minimum jail sentences that are part of the legislation he signed to permanently add fentanyl to Schedule 1 under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill he signed, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, got bipartisan support in Congress, although Trump signaled out Republican backers at the White House. 'It's a big deal, as they will tell you – meaning anyone caught trafficking these illicit poisons will be punished with a mandatory 10 year minimum sentence in prison. We'll be getting the drug dealers, pushers and peddlers off our street,' Trump said. After mentioning the China death penalty, Trump continued: 'I believe that's going to happen soon, but as of today, all fentanyl related substances will be banned forever, and those who traffic in these deadly poisons will be put behind bars for a very long period of time.' Jackie Siegel and U.S President Donald Trump look on the day he signs the HALT Fentanyl Act, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 16, 2025. Speakers including Siegel told tragic stories of losing family members to drugs Back in February, Trump referenced the death penalty conversation he says he had with Xi while speaking to a group of governors. 'If you notice that every country that has the death penalty has no drug problem,' Trump said. He also told states to take their own hardline actions. 'Your states have the right to go death penalty also for drug dealers,' Trump said. 'But only do that if you want to get rid of drugs.' It came in the same meeting where he clashed with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over transgender sports issues. 'We'll see you in court,' she told him.
Fox News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Cartel drones pose 'dangerous' drug trafficking risk in border state, official warns
As reported crossings have dropped dramatically at the border, there is still work to be done on matters of stopping drugs from making their way into the United States, especially in the border state of Arizona, a top state official says. One of the ways that cartels transport drugs is by using drones, a tactic that gained attention after bipartisan legislation signed in the Grand Canyon State gave law enforcement the power to shoot down the small aircraft. "I think what has changed is that we have gotten more control over people crossing over the border, but unfortunately what has not changed is we still have a huge amount of fentanyl that is coming across our border here in Arizona, and that is being flown over the by the Mexican drug cartels with drones," Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said. "So, one of the things as the attorney general of Arizona that I've done is we got a law passed that allows local law enforcement and our office to shoot those drones out of the sky or to disable them with drone jammers. And that's something that's long overdue. There's a huge number of these drone incursions inside the United States, sometimes as far as 50 miles inside of Arizona, and that is unacceptable," she continued. "It is shocking, the number of drones that are coming inside Arizona. It's very, very dangerous. Obviously, right now, they are delivering payloads of fentanyl. But drones are capable of delivering almost anything, as we have seen in Ukraine," she said. Mayes has disagreed with various elements of the Trump administration's border and immigration policies. For example, she does not support the masking of ICE agents "except under extreme circumstances," as it causes distrust. On matters of drug enforcement, she asked for 50 or more Drug Enforcement Agency personnel and criticized a proposed 35% cut at the federal level to the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. "I need the federal government to step up to the plate and to bring us more resources to deal with these cartels as they evolve," she said. In response to Mayes' request for more DEA agents, the agency referred to Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget's comments on "America Reports" in February. "We are committed to putting more people there. We are adding more people as we speak, so Phoenix has always been one of the top DEA domestic offices and regions that we're focused on. We see it in the numbers," he said at the time. While there are political disagreements on the Trump administration's border policies, some Republicans have expressed that the overall situation has significantly improved. "What I can tell you is that looking at the [beginning of] 2025 through June, we're seeing a reduction of fentanyl cases coming to our office," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, said. Maricopa County is a highly populated county that includes Phoenix in the suburbs. "We know that in 2022 to 2023, over half of the fentanyl seized — and this is according to DEA — was seized in Arizona. So this is the main distribution point for the entire country," Mitchell said, adding that the lethality of the pills has increased in recent years. "So those border efforts by President Trump and his administration to get control over that border are vital to keeping Americans safe and alive, frankly," she continued. When it comes to crossings, Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls explained that things are now more "peaceful" in the region. Yuma is just minutes from the border, and the city faced a strain on resources during the border crisis, including at its hospital, and they're still hoping to see reimbursement at some point. "The cartel activity has remained pretty much south of the border, and it pretty much always has. There's no real incursion into our community, and we did not see an increase in crime over the last five years. We've actually seen a decrease in the last couple of years," Nicholls noted. "So there's no direct impact here. But what has happened is, in Mexico, there's been a big shift in the cartels' organization as there's been arrests... The leadership levels have been competed for by people within the cartel organizations," he continued. "That's caused a lot of violence right across the border, so there are those concerns which have an impact on us. From the perspective of people coming here to access the border, if they're not crossing anymore, that impacts a lot our local economy, so from that perspective, that's really been the only big impact." "But the interdiction of drugs that come through our community — fentanyl, and all of them, cocaine and everything — to me, that's a bigger issue countrywide because it doesn't just stop here, it continues to move through our community," the mayor added. "Under President Trump, the southern border is more secure than it has ever been," said White House spokesperson Liz Huston. "The Trump Administration is restoring law and order, and dangerous cartel criminals are being removed from our streets. Protecting the American people is our top priority — and criminals now know if they cross our border, they will face the full force of the United States Justice System."
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Chilling new drug trade Chinese and Mexican cartels are LEGALLY taking over in the US after fentanyl crackdown
Chinese and Mexican drug cartels are trafficking marijuana across America by exploiting the nation's 'legal' cannabis market. International crime groups have been running a multi-billion-dollar black market cannabis industry in the US for at least the last 10 years, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA, in its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, revealed that drug traffickers are purchasing land in states with legal marijuana frameworks to operate illicit grow operations. Those operations then serve as the 'main suppliers' of high-potency cannabis to states where the drug is not recreationally legal, as well as abroad, the report found. DEA officials allege these Chinese-owned growing operations 'do not follow the established licensure process' and often 'obtained licenses through falsified means'. They use a labor force comprised of undocumented migrants at the grows and produce cannabis in 'excess of quotas and legal market needs'. The cartels also launder their drug proceeds through licensed marijuana operations, straw ownership, casinos and mortgage fraud, the DEA report found. Recreational marijuana is currently legal or decriminalized in 24 US states and the District of Columbia. It has been legalized for medical use in 39 states and DC. But the DEA warns that 'black market for marijuana has expanded significantly' over the past 20 years as Chinese and other Asian criminal organizations have seized greater control over cannabis trade. Mexican cartels have long dominated the market for illegal weed in the US, but Chinese-operated gangs are now vying to become America's cannabis kingpins. Chinese gangs have set up thousands of illicit weed farms across America and are hiding in plain site, officials revealed. The criminal enterprises are ' exploiting the "legal" market' by operating their grows in states with weak marijuana regulatory structures, such as Oklahoma and California. The DEA report highlighted Oklahoma as a hotspot for illicit cannabis operation, citing how 66 per cent of seizures in 2024 occurred in the state. Officials claim Asian transnational criminal organizations are illegally cultivating marijuana with THC levels between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, making it among the most potent in drug-trafficking history. Crime bosses have established 'extensive illegal grow operations' using falsified documentation and an undocumented labor force. 'They are bringing in Mexican nationals, bringing in Chinese immigrants as well, and basically bringing them in as the labor force within these bureau sites, promising them payment,' former California Wildlife Department Lt. John Nores told NewsNation. 'Not paying these guys, kind of extorting and keeping them around, really not really against their will.' Mexican cartels are also transporting marijuana into the US and partnering with domestic criminal groups to distribute it nationwide via the country's highway network. The DEA found that drug smugglers are transporting the products using the 'shotgun approach' in 'personally owned' vehicles, semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, the report states. The shotgun approach, which aims to minimize risk, involves sending the drugs across multiple vehicles, each carrying no more than a couple hundreds pounds of cannabis. Overseas shipments are sent via commercial flights from the US and Canada, as well as on shipping containers departing from American ports. Officials also found that cannabis produced in the US at grows operated by Chinese cartels is currently in high demand in the UK, France and Spain 'due to its potency'. Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine have been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms - with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads', it emerged last year. Officials warned that illicit marijuana operations were on the rise because Chinese funding for such operations was skyrocketing. It is unclear whether funding was coming from groups connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but experts have pointed out that triads are usually only allowed to operate if they agree to act as informal 'enforcers' for the government. A Homeland Security memo, leaked to the Daily Caller in 2023, also raised the possibility that profits were being funneled back to Beijing. The surge in illicit cannabis operations comes as President Donald Trump has vowed to throw everything possible at Mexico's cartels for flooding the US with deadly fentanyl. Mexico's new administration has shown a willingness to help, pursuing cartel operations and making arrests of gang leaders. In February, Trump designated eight Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. He had called for the move in an executive order signed in January. The 'foreign terrorist organization' label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends - not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. The Trump administration argues that the international connections and operations of the groups - including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory - warrant the designation.
