Senators call on Mexico, China to do more to stop illicit fentanyl trafficking

By BRETT ROWLAND THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee wants Mexico and countries that supply the precursor chemicals for making cheap and potent fentanyl to be held accountable and do more to stop illicit trafficking as deaths from the drug continue to surge in the United States.

Chairman U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said more needs to be done both within the U.S. and abroad.

“I’m urging the Biden administration to take additional steps to confront the fentanyl epidemic,” he said. “ ... It’s time for the United States to build a multi-lateral coalition to hold China accountable for failure to meet its international obligation to stop illicit drug trafficking.”

Sen. Menendez said China needs to immediately implement Know-Your-Customer standards to protect against fraud, corruption and money laundering or face sanctions. At home, he said the U.S. needs more high-tech screening at the borders to disrupt open fentanyl sales on social media and to improve access to treatment for those with substance use disorders.

U.S. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, said more than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021. He said fentanyl was responsible for nearly 70% of those deaths. Addressing the issue will require “very effective international cooperation,” he said.

“Another way to stem this crisis is to identify and cut off the pipelines,” he said.

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Those pipelines include precursor chemicals from China that Mexican cartels use to make fentanyl, which is then smuggled into the U.S., Sen. Risch said.

“The same cartels are profiting from and prolonging the illegal migration crisis caused by the Biden administration’s weak enforcement of border security and immigration controls,” he said.

More than 46 million Americans have substance use disorders, said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

“America is facing the worst drug crisis we’ve ever seen,” he said. “It is tearing the very fabric of our nation. It presents a direct and surging threat to public health.” percent of Asians, and 60 percent whites.

Anne Milgram, administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration, said the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are responsible for the majority of the illicit fentanyl that enters the United States.

She said the two cartels buy precursor chemicals from China, which they use to make fentanyl powder. That powder is then pressed into fake prescription pills, Ms. Milgram said.

“It is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced,” she said.

The Mexican Army this week announced that it seized a fentanyl pill manufacturing center and the laboratory with the largest methamphetamine production capacity in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The army found about 282 pounds of possible granulated fentanyl, 629,138 pills of probable fentanyl, 220 pounds of possible methamphetamine, other chemicals, and 28 organic synthesis reactors.

“The care is now directly impacting the health and financial security of millions of California families,” Mr. Stremikis said.

One extremely important priority in health care identified by the survey was access to reproductive health care including abortion (41%). It was ranked extremely or very important among 82 percent of blacks; 72 percent of Latinos; 66

Other top priorities for health care were: making information about the price of doctor visits, tests, and procedures more available to patients (40%); funding health care, including mental health services, for people experiencing homelessness (39%); and reducing differences in health care quality between racial and ethnic groups (38%).