Where is the Biden administration’s sense of urgency to save the lives of the most innocent and precious in the country? Our future generation is being poisoned at a level unseen in our history. Sadly, the Mexican cartels have formed a deadly partnership with CCP-linked Chinese criminal networks and are manufacturing large quantities of fake prescription pills and tainting the illicit drug supply with powerful synthetic opioids. We have experienced mass poisonings all over the country and citizens are dying at record rates.
On April 6, 2022, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram issued a warning to America that “Fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate.” She added, “Already this year, numerous mass-overdose events have resulted in dozens of overdoses and deaths. Drug traffickers are driving addiction, and increasing their profits, by mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs. Tragically, many overdose victims have no idea they are ingesting deadly fentanyl, until it’s too late.”
If you examine the nationwide press reports since Ms. Milgram’s warning, there are so many mass poisonings documented, but the reporting and educational material from DC is lacking big time. The public must be aware of this national security crisis which is not a “red or blue issue, but rather a red, white and blue matter” that impacts all Americans. We all need to recognize the gravity of the threat and stop downplaying this as only a drug overdose matter – especially when it is children that are the target.
The Families Against Fentanyl (FAF) analyzed the statistics of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and have determined that fentanyl is the leading cause of death in this country for the ages 18-45. But more alarming are statistics on death rates of children under 14. Fentanyl deaths among children are rising faster than any other age group. Since 2020, the fentanyl deaths among children ages 1-4 more than tripled. They increased four-fold among infants under one and children ages 5 to 14.
This is outrageous. All Americans should care about this disturbing and horrible trend.
Our brave men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line daily to seize record levels of these deadly drugs. The DEA and its law enforcement partners seized 50,600,000 fake pills and over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl in 2022 – the equivalent of 379 million deadly dosage units. As Ms. Milgram reminded the public, “These seizures – enough deadly doses of fentanyl to kill every American.”
If you then look at United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seizures of this deadly substance, it’s staggering. This year the CBP seized over 9.4 thousand pounds of this poison in the first 3 months of fiscal year 2023. (Protection, 2023) Law enforcement has prevented so many deaths by confiscating this poison before it finds its way into children’s hands.
In the history of this great country, we have never experienced a drug crisis of this magnitude. On January 12, 2023 for example, it was reported that in Onondaga County, New York 25 opioid overdoses occurred within 24 hours. The same county previously reported in December a similar event where 14 overdosed in 36 hours. This shouldn’t be acceptable in America, and we must stand up for the safety and security of the citizens. This past week in Walker County, GA three people were found dead in a mass fentanyl overdose in northwest Georgia.
Since America can’t rely on the Mexican government to deal with this unprecedented threat to our citizens due to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s soft-on-crime, “hugs no bullets” policies and the massive corruption in Mexico, we need to declare the two main Mexican cartels – Sinaloa and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion – terrorist organizations and hold them accountable for the devastation to communities and families all over America.
The FAF, members of the United States Congress, State Attorney Generals and other national security officials have recognized that fentanyl is being used like a “weapon of mass destruction” and right now their main focus must be on the Mexican cartels and the Chinese criminals who are supplying the chemicals used to produce the poison in labs in Mexico. No terrorist organization has killed our people at this level, so it’s time to act and decimate their ability to kill our future generation.
Derek Maltz is the former director the DEA’s Special Operations Division.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.