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.
286 Articles
286 Articles
Fentanyl As “WMD”: Trump Expands The Toolkit, From Sanctions To Possible Military Support
Key Points The U.S. now labels illicit fentanyl and key precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction. The order widens the toolkit: counter-WMD intelligence, sanctions, tougher prosecutions, and possible military support. U.S. strikes at sea and talk of land targets are turning drugs into a security escalation. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order […]
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.
Donald Trump stated that the signature of this "historic" executive order represents further progress in the protection of the North American against "the flag of the deadly fentanyl that is inundating" the country.
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.
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