Sen. John Cornyn accused the Biden administration of allowing criminals to take control of the southern border, triggering a drug crisis in the United States.
“Nine million illegal entries into the United States since the Biden administration took over, 108,000 dead Americans last year because of drugs that come across the southwestern border. The criminal organizations that move millions of people across know they’re overwhelming our capacity to deal with it.
“And so when the border patrol is off the front lines, that’s when the drugs come across, including fentanyl that killed 71,000 Americans last year alone.”
An April House committee report accused China of fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States.
China “directly subsidizes the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates,” the report said. Beijing even gives “monetary grants and awards to companies openly trafficking” such drugs.
“The fentanyl crisis has helped CCP [Chinese Communist Party)-tied Chinese organized criminal groups become the world’s premier money launderers, enriched the PRC’s chemical industry, and had a devastating impact on Americans.”
Beijing “is now taking law enforcement action against illicit precursor suppliers, has issued a notice to industry warning Chinese companies against illicit trade in precursor chemicals and pill presses equipment, and has committed to restart key law enforcement cooperation,” said the White House.
In February, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador warned that cooperation with the United States on drug trafficking will suffer if American media continue to suggest that his presidential campaign received funds from drug dealers.
CBP Action Against Fentanyl
According to a 2022 post by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Mexican cartels smuggle drugs into the United States through secret underground tunnels, flying them over the border through drones or other aircraft, and hiding the drugs in vehicles and maritime vessels.After traffickers smuggle in large quantities, street gangs take over the distribution, selling it throughout U.S. cities.
Most of the interdicted, illicit drugs are seized at the over 300 official ports of entry, CFR said. Some of the major drug trafficking cartels are the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Los Zetas, Guerreros Unidos (GU), and Juarez Cartel.
Many cartels have strongholds near the U.S.—Mexico border. For instance, the Sinaloa Cartel is highly active on the northwest Pacific coast and near Mexico’s northern border, while the Juarez Cartel’s stronghold is in Chihuahua, across the border from Texas and New Mexico.
Named “Operation Plaza Spike,” it targets cartels that facilitate the flow of fentanyl as well as precursors, analogs, and tools used to make the opioids. The plan is to disrupt operations at “plazas,” referring to territories south of the United States which are “natural logistical chokepoints within the cartels’ operations.”
“So long as fentanyl and other illicit opioids wreak tragedy across American communities, the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security will remain unrelenting in their work stopping these deadly drugs from hitting our streets and taking lives,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.
“Operation Plaza Spike is a critical step in our ongoing whole-of-Department campaign to directly attack the transnational criminal organizations that peddle narcotics, death, and destruction for profit. We are sparing no effort to dismantle cartels and ensure everyone from kingpins to plaza bosses are brought to justice.”
Under the operation, CBP intends to seize illicit proceeds from drug sales and scrutinize related cross-border trade and business entities.
“We urge you to use all tools at your disposal, including executive action, to better address security at the Southern border, interdict illicit fentanyl, and allow for orderly legal immigration.”
