White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called on The Washington Post to change its headline “accordingly” on Tuesday after it reported that fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border had “mysteriously” dropped.
The Post published the headline, “The mysterious drop in fentanyl seizure on the U.S.-Mexico border,” where it reported that the number of fentanyl seizures have dropped by more than half in the past year. Leavitt criticized the Post for not crediting President Donald Trump’s hawkish border policies for the stark decrease in fentanyl seizures, stating that the outlet is “intentionally trying to manipulate the minds of Americans.”
“The Washington Post actually had this headline, ‘The mysterious drop in fentanyl seizures on the U.S.-Mexico border.’ How is this mysterious? There is no mystery about why there is a decrease in fentanyl coming into the United States. This administration’s strong border policies are the reason there has been a decrease in fentanyl trafficking,” Leavitt said. “His strengthened relationship with Mexican President [Claudia] Sheinbaum and all of the measures he has been taking to deter illegal human and drug trafficking at our United States southern border is the reason for plummeting fentanyl seizures at the southern border.”
“There is nothing mysterious about that and we’d like to see The Washington Post update their headline accordingly. This is clearly trying to manipulate the minds of Americans and I think the American people understand why there has been a fentanyl drop,” the press secretary continued.
WATCH:
The Post reported that the average monthly seizures of fentanyl dropped from 1,700 pounds in 2024 to 746 in 2025. The outlet then attempted to push back against the White House’s statement crediting Trump’s policies, stating that the number of seizures had already began dropping before he was back in the Oval Office.
The article stated that the drop may be a result of the war between the Sinaloa cartel and the shortage in ingredients to make fentanyl.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) published an op-ed stating that the drop in fentanyl is a “key indicator of broader total smuggling at and between the southern border’s ports of entry” had decreased 50% since the 2024 election.
Before Trump had even been sworn in, migrant caravans and would-be illegal immigrants turned around and headed back to their own countries. Routes that hundreds of thousands of migrants notoriously used for smuggling and illegal immigration suddenly went silent just weeks into Trump’s second term as a result of his tough border policies.
The Washington Post did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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