US EditionTrump signs order labeling fentanyl ‘weapon of mass destruction’
The executive order mobilizes federal agencies to use military, financial, and legal tools against fentanyl, which caused about 48,000 synthetic opioid deaths in 2024, 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.
259 Articles
259 Articles
US: Illicit fentanyl declared a weapon of mass destruction
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday formally designating illicit fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). The move shifts the federal government's approach to the opioid crisis from a strictly public health and law enforcement issue to a national security priority.
US President Donald Trump is making a stir with a new order. Opioid fentanyl is now in a row with ABC weapons.
U.S. President Trump has made the fight against synthetic opioid fentanyl the chief issue. He is now taking another step towards "protecting" the population – possibly with drastic consequences.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced for months that he appoints fentanyl - a powerful synthesis opioid, responsible for many deaths by overdose in the United States - right to a “arm of mass destruction”, reports AFP.
The U.S. President presented a decree on fentanyl, exacerbating the US struggle against the drug crisis with explosive consequences.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating fentanyl, a powerful painkiller, as a weapon of mass destruction. "No bomb does what this drug does," Trump declared in the Oval Office. Fentanyl is also used as a drug and, according to Trump, is smuggled into the US from Venezuela on drug boats.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
