US President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
He ordered the Pentagon and the Justice Department to take expanded measures against the production and distribution of the drug and its chemical precursors.
The executive order, signed Monday, frames fentanyl not only as a deadly narcotic but also as a potential chemical weapon.
According to the White House, the measure “unleashes all tools to combat the cartels and foreign networks responsible for flooding communities with this deadly substance,” while warning that fentanyl could be used as a weapon for “concentrated, large-scale terrorist attacks by organized adversaries.”
With the designation, the Department of Defense can now support the Department of Justice in using military assets to enforce criminal laws related to fentanyl, while federal prosecutors are expected to pursue tougher penalties for fentanyl-related crimes.
The order comes amid Trump’s stated plans to expand the US campaign against suspected drug traffickers in South America, following more than 20 attacks on shipping in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Authorities say most of the fentanyl entering the United States is produced in Mexico using chemicals largely imported from China and India before being smuggled through U.S. ports of entry.
“With this historic executive order… we formally classify it as a weapon of mass destruction, which it is,” the president said at the White House. “No bomb does what this one has done. From what we know, 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year. So we are formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.”
Fentanyl overdose remains the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45. Data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shows that more than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in the US in 2023, and nearly 70 percent are related to opioids like fentanyl.
UPDATED: Bayelsa Deputy Governor Ewhrudjakpo dies after collapsing in office – Tribune Online
The executive order defines illicit fentanyl as fentanyl “manufactured, distributed, dispensed, or possessed in violation of the Controlled Substances Act” and does not apply to fentanyl legally used in medical settings.
The FBI defines a weapon of mass destruction as a “destructive device, such as an explosive or incendiary bomb, rocket, or grenade; a weapon designed to cause death or serious injury using toxic or poisonous chemicals; a weapon containing a biological agent or toxin”; or “a weapon designed to release dangerous levels of radiation or radioactivity.”
Congressional lawmakers have previously pushed for fentanyl to be classified as a weapon of mass destruction.
READ ALSO TOP STORIES OF Newslodge