Spotlighting America’s Fentanyl Crisis on Red Ribbon Week

Narcotic detectives seized about 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills that were packaged in bags of candy at Los Angeles International Airport in California on Oct. 19, 2022. Courtesy of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

News Analysis

Thirty-seven Octobers ago, Mexican drug cartels kidnapped, tortured, and murdered Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. People began wearing red ribbons to honor Camarena’s sacrifice, and Red Ribbon Week was born, observed annually in late October.