US EditionTrump signs order labeling fentanyl ‘weapon of mass destruction’
The executive order empowers federal agencies to use legal, diplomatic, and military measures against fentanyl, linked to nearly 330,000 deaths over five years, officials said.
- On Monday, Dec. 15, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office classifying fentanyl as a `weapon of mass destruction` while flanked by Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, and Tom Homan.
- Having earlier labeled drug cartels `foreign terrorist organizations` in February, the administration says the move aims to escalate anti-drug smuggling with maritime strikes in the Caribbean and U.S.-Mexico border enforcement.
- Trump said `No bomb does what this is doing`, highlighting illicit fentanyl’s extreme potency as two milligrams lethal dose equals 10 to 15 grains of table salt.
- Federal agencies will receive directives to disrupt fentanyl production, trafficking and financial networks, but it remained unclear how the classification will affect legal or operational measures for drug traffickers or people impacted by fentanyl use.
- With overdose deaths exceeding more than 80,000 Americans in 2024, the `weapons of mass destruction` label recalls its Iraq-era use for nuclear, biological, or chemical threats.
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441 Articles
White House: Illicit Fentanyl Is Closer To Chemical Weapon Than Narcotic
RPNM News: ALBUQUERQUE — The White House officially designated fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. This historic announcement will change how the drug is viewed by the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Department of War, and law enforcement. The Trump Administration is ensuring illicit fentanyl isn’t just approached as a deadly narcotic, but as a chemical weapon responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. “Fe…
US President Donald Trump has labeled the powerful painkiller fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. More people die annually from fentanyl overdoses in America than from traffic accidents and gun violence combined. Will the military be deployed soon? "This administration is willing to go to extremes."
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