DEA issues public warning for dangerous widespread fentanyl mix

Misty Severi

March 20, 07:31 PM March 20, 07:31 PM

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert Monday about a dangerous mix of fentanyl and xylazine, a powerful sedative, being trafficked in 48 states.

The mixture presents a particularly high risk of a fatal overdose. Narcan, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, would not help in the event of an accidental overdose since xylazine is not an opioid.

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“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement. “The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”

Xylazine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for veterinary use. The DEA said it still recommends using Narcan on people suffering from a drug overdose regardless of whether the drugs contained xylazine.

Approximately 107,735 Americans died between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sixty-six percent of the deaths involved opioids like fentanyl. The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico are primarily responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl being trafficked in the United States.

The DEA sent out a public safety alert about the dangers of fake prescription pills being laced with fentanyl in 2021. It included warnings about the lethal nature of the laced drugs. The agency updated that warning in November, claiming that six out of 10 fake prescription medications contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.

U.S. officials have also warned healthcare providers of the possibility that a suspected drug overdose could contain xylazine along with the fentanyl, the DEA said.

Rep. Chip Roy introduces bill to designate Mexican cartels 'foreign terrorist organizations'

Misty Severi

March 10, 08:18 PM March 10, 08:18 PM

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) reintroduced a bill Friday that, if passed, would require the State Department to designate certain Mexican cartels "foreign terrorist organizations." The move comes in response to drug trafficking across the southern border.

The bill, called the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act, seeks to label the Gulf cartel, Cartel del Noreste, the Sinaloa cartel, and the Jalisco New Generation cartel as foreign terrorist organizations. The legislation comes on the heels of the kidnapping of four U.S. citizens and a fentanyl crisis within the United States.

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"It's long past time to designate these cartels as the terrorists they are and give U.S. authorities the tools needed to take them down," Roy told WHD News.

"That's why I started pushing the Trump administration for FTO designations during my first few months in Congress, why I introduced this legislation last Congress, and why I'm introducing it again," he said.

Cartels are responsible for the smuggling of illicit drugs such as fentanyl into the U.S., contributing to the opioid crisis. They also smuggle immigrants across the southern border. Two U.S. citizens were also killed by the cartels during a recent kidnapping.

"They are bold enough to kidnap and kill foreign nationals in broad daylight; there is no limit to the inhumane methods they will use to achieve their ultimate end: profiting off of human suffering," Roy said. "This most recent atrocity adds to the already massive human toll, including 72,000 dead Americans from fentanyl poisoning, more than 1,000 dead migrants along our border, and countless human and sex trafficking victims."

Roy's legislation has 21 co-sponsors, including Reps. Dan Bishop (R-NC), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Byron Donalds (R-FL). Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced a companion bill in the Senate this week.

If the bills are enacted, the State Department would need to provide a report on the cartels. The designation would also give the federal government the power it needs to crack down on the cartels, such as the ability to stifle financial support for the cartels because it is illegal for a U.S. citizen to support FTOs.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was supportive of using the designation on the cartels because the fentanyl crisis was purposely caused by the cartels. However, the designation could strain the U.S.'s relationship with Mexico.

Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — People's Army are already considered foreign terrorist organizations.

WATCH: Cruz blasts Biden as ‘best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels’

Heather Hamilton

March 08, 06:39 AM March 08, 06:39 AM

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) did not hold back when expressing his frustration over what he called President Joe Biden’s weak leadership concerning the border crisis.

Cruz said the recent kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom have been confirmed dead, is indicative of the “chaos” that Biden’s policies have created.

TWO OF FOUR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS FOUND DEAD IN MEXICO

“Those who kill American citizens must be held accountable,” Cruz said on Jesse Watters Primetime. “This wouldn’t happen if we had responsible presidential leadership. Joe Biden created the chaos at the border. Joe Biden stopped building the wall, he reinstated 'Catch and Release.' He pulled out of ‘Remain in Mexico,’ and what Joe Biden has done is he has turned these vicious narco-terrorists into billionaires.”

"Joe Biden becoming president is the best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels," Cruz added.

The Texas senator blasted the Biden administration, including White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, for “no shortage of disastrous statements when it comes to the open border.”

“Karine Jean-Pierre saying fentanyl has never been better — I actually wonder if the reporters in the briefing room scooted back afraid that lightning was going to hit the podium,” Cruz said. “I mean, good God!”

“Last year, we had the highest number of drug overdoses in the history of our country. Over 100,000 drug overdoses in the United States, a majority of which came from Chinese fentanyl flooding across this border,” Cruz continued. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are responsible for turning these vicious murderers into multi-billionaires.”

Cruz suggested additional “pressure” must be placed on the Mexican government to stop the border crisis.

“The answer is put pressure on Mexico and have the Mexican army show up, arrest these guys, extradite them to the United States,” Cruz said. “They need to be prosecuted and face the full force of American justice, and if we had a president with a scintilla of willingness to stand up to other nations, that’s exactly what would be happening right now.”