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Khushboo Razdan

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order (EO) designating illicit fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid driving the US overdose crisis, as a weapon of mass destruction.
The EO issued by the White House asserted that “illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic” due to its extreme potency.
“Two milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, constitutes a lethal dose,” it said.
The order highlights the national security threat posed by organised criminal networks and cartels, noting that their fentanyl operations fund “assassinations, terrorist acts, and insurgencies” while enabling large-scale violence, and warns of “the potential for fentanyl to be weaponised for concentrated, large-scale terror attacks”.

Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters that there was “no doubt that America’s adversaries are trafficking fentanyl into the United States, in part because they want to kill Americans”.
“They’ve destroyed a lot of families, because when they lose a child, or even if their child is heavily addicted, you lose that family, the family will never be the same,” he said.
Calling his EO “historic”, Trump added that “no bomb does what this is doing, 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year that we know, so we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction”.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “yet another action in President Trump’s crackdown on fentanyl – on behalf of every American who has lost a loved one to this deadly poison”.
The EO follows the president’s approval of unprecedented air strikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, originating from or allegedly linked to Venezuela, that have killed more than 90 people since September. In February, Trump designated some drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”.
On Monday, the US Southern Command announced the US military had attacked three more alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific, killing eight people.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines a weapon of mass destruction as “all chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive weapon modalities. These weapons can have a large-scale impact on people, property, or infrastructure”.
The US has long blamed China for the crisis. Since Trump’s return, he has doubled down on this, accusing Beijing of being the primary source of precursor chemicals shipped to Mexican cartels for illicit fentanyl production.
While China denies responsibility and attributes the issue to US domestic demand, diplomatic pressure, including tariffs tied to fentanyl flows, led to renewed bilateral commitments for stricter export controls and law enforcement cooperation.
In November, following a meeting the previous month between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump, China committed to halting shipments of certain designated precursors to North America and to strictly controlling shipments of others globally.
Beijing has also introduced export licensing requirements for 13 key precursor chemicals, specifically for exports to the US, Mexico, and Canada.
Provisional data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention indicate approximately 80,000-81,000 total drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2024, a sharp decline of about 27 per cent from 110,000 in 2023.
The most recent provisional estimates published in September show total overdose deaths continuing around 76,000-82,000 annually.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confiscated more than 380 million lethal doses of fentanyl in 2024. This year’s numbers, updated in late September, found the DEA seized more than 262 million deadly doses of fentanyl.
The EO directs agencies to act aggressively, including by having the US Attorney General step up investigations, prosecutions and sentencing for trafficking. The secretaries of State and Treasury were to target assets and financial networks supporting it.
The president, through the order, also asks the US defence secretary to assess support for enforcement and update military directives to include fentanyl threats.


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United States

Trump calls fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction: ‘no bomb does what this is doing’

US President Donald Trump with his signed executive order classifying fentanyl as a ‘weapon of mass destruction’. Photo: Reuters

Seized packages of fentanyl and cash are displayed at the Atlanta Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, last month. Photo: EPA

Images show what the US military says are lethal strikes on three separate alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean announced on Monday. Photo: US Southern Command via X

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea on October 30. Photo: AFP

US senators warn of China-cartel links forming a global ‘Silk Road of crime’

US Customs and Border Protection display plastic bags of fentanyl after being seized at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. US lawmakers say Chinese money brokers and Latin American cartels have merged their operations into a system that blurs the line between trade and trafficking. Photo: Reuters

Former US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen remarked in 2021 that ‘the best place to hide and launder ill-gotten gains is actually the United States’.  Photo: EPA-EFE

US outlines agreement with China to curb fentanyl chemicals as tariffs ease

The synthetic opioid killed an estimated 48,422 Americans last year, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Photo: AFP

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a White House press briefing on Wednesday. Photo: Zuma

China tightens controls on fentanyl precursors bound for US, Canada and Mexico

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, an opioid that is the leading cause of American overdose deaths. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Trump halves fentanyl-related tariffs on China, but warns of reversal if demands not met

A chemist holds vials of fentanyl pills at a DEA research laboratory in Virginia in April. Photo: AP

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US president dramatically escalates his fight against the drug by signing an executive order and warning against the ‘scourge’ of fentanyl


US president dramatically escalates his fight against the drug by signing an executive order and warning against the ‘scourge’ of fentanyl.


Trump calls fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction: ‘no bomb does what this is doing’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president dramatically escalates his fight against the drug by signing an executive order and warning against the ‘scourge’ of fentanyl

US president dramatically escalates his fight against the drug by signing an executive order and warning against the ‘scourge’ of fentanyl