President Donald Trump has declared war on fentanyl by labeling it a “weapon of mass destruction.”
The president signed an executive order Monday making the designation, The Hill reported.
Trump signing the order was part of an event in the Oval Office where the Mexican Border Defense Medal was awarded to military members who assisted stopping crossings at the southern border.
“No bomb does what this is doing,” Trump said as he linked 200,000 to 300,000 deaths each year to the drug.
The executive order gives administration officials “additional tools to target countries, cartels and other organizations that are connected to the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl,” per the outlet.
Trump also said the influx of drug flows are “a direct military threat to the United States of America.”
“With a secure border, lives are being saved every day, sex trafficking has plummeted, fentanyl has plummeted,” White House border czar Tom Homan said.
Trump has made moves in the past to stop the distribution of fentanyl in the U.S.
For instance, he slapped tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, stating those three need to do more to stem flow of fentanyl into the United States.
He also signed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which called for harsher prison sentences for those who traffic Fentanyl.
Fentanyl mostly comes to the United States from Mexico. Drug cartels make fentanyl using “precursor chemicals” that come from China.
Fentanyl is easily made in makeshift labs, making it tough to stop.
