Fentanyl Crisis News

The Daily Signal provides urgent fentanyl crisis coverage with reporting and conservative commentary on Mexican cartel trafficking operations, Chinese chemical exports, border interdiction failures, overdose death statistics, and the direct connection between open borders and America’s deadly opioid epidemic.
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    • Analysis

    Nuclear Weapon or Fentanyl—Both Accomplish Same Goal, Congressman Warns  

    Adversaries of the U.S. could launch a nuclear weapon at America, or they can achieve the same goal by flooding the nation with fentanyl, says a congressman who has introduced a bill cracking down on fentanyl imports.   “If you’re one of our adversaries, you have the option: You can either launch a nuclear weapon that would kill half…
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    Trump Will Save Hundreds of Thousands From Fentanyl Crisis Through ‘Brilliant Leadership,’ Kash Patel Says

    When it comes to stopping fentanyl production, “no one has bothered to engage China. The Biden administration didn’t even do it,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo. Patel recalled his recent trip to China with President Donald Trump, aimed at halting the flow of…
    Lorenzo Prieto
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    • News

    Kash Patel Touts Deal With China to ‘Shut Off the Pipeline That Creates Fentanyl’

    In collaboration with China, President Donald Trump has effectively “shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl,” FBI Director Kash Patel says.   China has “agreed on a plan to stop fentanyl precursors,” Patel said at the White House press briefing on Wednesday. Patel traveled to Beijing over the weekend and met with officials regarding the scourge of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that killed 48,000…
    Virginia Allen
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    • Opinion

    Hegseth on Fentanyl, Narco-Terrorists, and America’s Response: ‘It’s Self-Defense’

    Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, his administration has taken a number of decisive actions to reduce the flow of illicit fentanyl into America and eliminate the devastation it wreaks on communities and families. First came orders to end “open border” policies, soon followed by a 20% tariff on China—the primary provider…
    Steve Yates
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    • News

    FBI Seized Enough Fentanyl ‘to Kill 55 Million Americans’ in 3-Month Span, Patel Says

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the results of Operation Summer Heat, the FBI’s three-month mission to target violent criminals. “In just a three-month span, you had 8,700 arrests of violent criminals. You had 2,200 firearms seized off the streets permanently, to safeguard our communities,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “You had 421 kg of…
    Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell
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    • News

    House Passes Bill to Hold China Accountable for Its Role in Fentanyl Crisis

    The House passed a bill Tuesday aimed at holding China accountable for its role in the fentanyl crisis.   Fentanyl is the leading cause of death in America for people between the age of 18 and 45.   “The Chinese Communist Party has played a key part in the deadly fentanyl crisis plaguing Kentucky and…
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    Congressman Seeks Murder Charges for Fentanyl Traffickers

    THE CENTER SQUARE—Fentanyl dealers would face tough new criminal penalties under a proposal filed by a Republican New York congressman that calls for charging those convicted of trafficking the drug with attempted murder. The Fentanyl Kills Act, refiled by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is the latest proposal aimed at cracking down on the sale and…
    Chris Wade
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    • News

    Trump to Sign Bill Cracking Down on Fentanyl

    President Donald Trump will sign into law a bill cracking down on the fentanyl crisis while surrounded by an audience of 200 lawmakers, activists, and Americans who have lost loved ones to the deadly substance, a White House official confirmed to The Daily Signal. “President Trump has made securing the border and ending the drug…
    Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell
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    • Opinion

    Families Are Ditching ‘Digital Fentanyl’ for Smartphone-Free Living

    Smartphones are “digital fentanyl,” says Clare Morell, author of “The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.”  Studies show that a child’s phone or tablet usage directly affects his or her brain development and “hinders their ability to self-regulate their own emotions, to develop self-control, and impulse control,” Morell says. …
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    House Passes HALT Fentanyl Act, Sending Bill to Trump’s Desk

    The House passed the HALT Fentanyl Act on Thursday, sending the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.   “Fentanyl is a bioweapon, and this bill treats it like one,” Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., whose younger brother died from a fentanyl overdose, told The Daily Signal.   “The HALT Fentanyl Act slams the…
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    Treasury Report Exposes How Fentanyl Traffickers Exploit Financial System

    The fentanyl trade—which claimed tens of thousands of American lives in 2024 alone—is a multibillion-dollar business supported by sophisticated money laundering schemes, a new report from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed Wednesday. Bessent released the report amid President Donald Trump’s push to use tariffs as a weapon against foreign nations' reputed abuses of their financial…
    George Caldwell
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    • News

    Senate Intelligence Panel Hearing Focuses on Mexican Cartels’ Fentanyl, Chinese Suppliers

    Leaders of the U.S. intel community on Tuesday went before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss their recently published 2025 Annual Threat Assessment. The panel of witnesses included Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, and Defense Intelligence Agency…
    Jacob Adams
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    • Opinion

    Here’s Why America Needs the HALT Fentanyl Act, and Why It Won’t Lead to Overcriminalization

    I worked with President Donald Trump on the First Step Act and am acutely aware of the damage that unnecessarily tough-on-crime laws can do, but I am glad to vouch for the HALT Fentanyl Act, which advances both public health and just enforcement. Trump visited the Justice Department Tuesday, reaffirming his commitment to combating the…
    John Koufos
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    • News

    Senate Strikes Blow to Drug Traffickers With Passage of HALT Fentanyl Act

    Update: The Senate passed the HALT Fentanyl Act on Friday afternoon by a vote of 84-16. America has many adversaries: China, Iran, North Korea, to name a few. But perhaps America’s biggest enemy is fentanyl, a highly addictive and highly lethal synthetic opioid. In this war on fentanyl, the Senate is preparing to launch its…
    Bradley Devlin
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    • News

    Trump Places Mexican Tariffs on Hold After Sheinbaum Pledges to Stop Fentanyl Trafficking

    The looming trade war between America and Mexico appears to be over before it began. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexican goods that were slated to go into effect Tuesday will be delayed for a month as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged her government would do more to stop the flow of fentanyl into…
    George Caldwell
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    • Opinion

    Fentanyl Is Killing Our Students: Here’s How Students Are Fighting Back

    Ten years ago, I had never heard the word “fentanyl.” Now, every sorority and fraternity on my college campus is equipped with Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, a lifesaving medication used to treat opioid overdoses. The fentanyl crisis is acutely felt on college campuses. Oftentimes, college students will take a pill that…
    Grace Emery
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    • News

    Why the Sudden Rise in Fentanyl Deaths Among Young People? 

    A mother who tragically lost her teenage son to fentanyl poisoning is speaking out about the opioid crisis among the nation’s youth. Federal data shows that among 10- to 19-year-olds, fentanyl deaths rose 182% from 2019 to 2021. “These days, experimenting with drugs is deadly,” said Janet Hehl, mother of Alec Pierce Hoffman.  “The cause of…
    Mary Elise Cosgray
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    • News

    Fentanyl Poisoning Victims ‘Didn’t Want to Die,’ Texan Says After Losing Grandson

    After losing her grandson to fentanyl poisoning in 2021, Martha Johnson has made a habit of asking young people if they know about the deadly drug.   “That’s what I feel right now, that when I see a teenager or young adult, I need to tell them,” Johnson said. The young people who have been poisoned by…
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    Honduran Nationals Reportedly Run Fentanyl Trafficking Rings in Major Cities

    Honduran nationals are running fentanyl trafficking rings in cities across the western U.S., an alternative newspaper in Oregon reports. Law enforcement agencies have been investigating a cartel using “Honduran nationals to distribute bulk amounts of fentanyl … in the western United States,” according to Willamette Week, citing a criminal complaint filed Dec. 12 in U.S. District…
    Jennie Taer
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    • News

    Chinese Drug Dealers Use Risqué Ads to Sell Narcotics, Fentanyl Ingredients on US Social Media

    Accounts claiming to represent Chinese drug manufacturers are using provocative images of women to advertise narcotics and fentanyl precursors on U.S. social media, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of hundreds of English and Chinese-language social media posts. The Daily Caller News Foundation identified several dozen LinkedIn accounts claiming to be saleswomen representing…
    Philip Lenczycki
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