US President Donald Trump on Monday, December 15, signed an executive order declaring fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction,” dramatically expanding U.S. government authority to combat the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually.
The unprecedented designation signals Trump’s intent to treat fentanyl not only as a public health emergency but as a national security threat comparable to chemical warfare.
The classification empowers the Pentagon to assist law enforcement and allows intelligence agencies to deploy counter-proliferation tools against drug traffickers as part of an intensified campaign against criminal networks.
“We’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is,” Trump said at a White House event honoring servicemembers supporting border security, adding, “They’re trying to drug out our country.”
“Illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic,” Trump’s executive order said.
The move builds on Trump’s earlier designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a step that has already led to more than 20 U.S. strikes since September against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 80 people.
Legal experts have questioned the legality of the strikes, noting that little public evidence has been presented showing the boats were carrying drugs or that lethal force was necessary instead of seizure and arrest.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found broad public opposition to the military campaign, even as Trump threatens possible land strikes in Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, while citing Mexico as the main source of illicit fentanyl and China as a key supplier of precursor chemicals. —Reuters
