By Todd Oh
74,702. 13,176. 79,000,000. These numbers reflect the severity of the crisis our nation faces. In 2023, there were 74,702 deaths due to synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. The DEA seized 13,176 kilograms of illicit fentanyl and 79 million pills containing fentanyl that year. Countless stories tell of those who lost loved ones to fentanyl. As these striking numbers increase awareness of the crisis, deeper questions arise: what will it take for us as a nation to end this crisis and protect our communities?
Last week, we signed a letter joining victims and parents’ organizations to call on a comprehensive response to the national fentanyl crisis. And today, we learned that the White House backed a proposal that would bolster our actions, including closing the de minimis loophole that allowed illegal fentanyl shipments to the U.S. These actions are steps towards ending this crisis and are part of the comprehensive national strategy we believe in.
Illegal drug use has historically decimated countries, societies, communities, and families, such as the cocaine epidemic in 1980s America. In most of these battles, we focused on educating people, primarily teenagers, about the risks and harms and labeling cartels as the criminals to tackle. Similar efforts apply to the fentanyl crisis, though the landscape and nature of this crisis differ significantly. The fentanyl crisis symbolizes a new national security threat arising from our transnational, hyper-connected world, fueled by greed. The exploitation of the de minimis program by criminal groups to import fentanyl illegally into the U.S. is an example of this.
Fentanyl is distributed and sold by major Mexican cartels, such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, to the U.S. While these cartels have engaged in drug trafficking and various organized crimes for decades, the potency and profitability of synthetics like fentanyl have transformed their operations. The journey begins with precursor chemicals from Chinese manufacturers. With the Chinese government allowing this illicit business, these chemicals are openly sold online. The cartels import them through ports under their control in Mexico, leveraging vast profits to bribe politicians, law enforcement, and government officials.
Once imported, clandestine labs produce fentanyl and counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, which are then smuggled into the U.S. through inadequately equipped borders and ports of entry, with over one billion packages claiming the de minimis preferences and only 4 million packages processed by border officials. The new proposal backed by the White House today would give border officials the right resources and equipment to target these shipments.
These trafficked fentanyl products are sold by dealers nationwide, reaching communities via social media platforms with insufficient controls. While this follows the market principle of supply and demand, highlighting the need for awareness and education, we must also examine the profits funneled back to the cartels. As I mentioned, these cartels operate out of greed and for money. Their sophisticated, corrupt operations rely on profits returning to their accounts. The Chinese underground banking system and money laundering organizations play a primary role in this vicious cycle. Chinese money launderers have established an unofficial system to launder proceeds without using the official financial system. They use diverse methods, from real estate and business investments to utilizing a network of money mules and disguising funds for seemingly legitimate purposes, such as college tuition support. Combined with cryptocurrency transactions, the cartels and Chinese laundering groups launder billions of dollars, exacerbating the fentanyl crisis for their gain at the expense of our communities and loved ones.
To address the question of how to end this crisis, we must tackle the source of the crisis—there is no single solution, but a comprehensive response addressing each root cause is essential. We must hold the Chinese government accountable for their complicity and the Mexican government for cartel activities and corruption. The new measures in the “Detect and Defeat” Proposal, such as establishing a nationwide pill press machine registry, are a significant step forward in protecting against counterfeit pills.
Continuing the momentum set with the National Security Memorandum that will be issued by President Biden, a national intelligence strategy and operations using cross-sector information and technical advances are needed to disrupt Chinese underground money laundering operations and cartel activities. There must be a streamlined policy for online social media safety, with measures to effectively block illicit actors from reaching Americans. We can achieve this through a comprehensive policy and national strategy, building cross-sector, whole-of-government countermeasures driven by technology to target systemic problems. We urge Congress to move forward with the “Detect and Defeat” proposal backed by the White House and take action with urgency in implementing a comprehensive response.
At United Against Fentanyl, we are committed to these solutions. Despite a challenging uphill battle, we believe that as a nation, we can end this crisis by addressing its root causes and honoring those who have lost their loved ones, striving for the day when we see a rapid decline in these devastating numbers and bring justice to the criminals responsible.
