Dec. 15, 2025, 4:14 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump has taken motion classifying fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction” as his administration escalates efforts to fight the circulate of illicit medication into the USA.
Trump signed an government order on Monday, Dec. 15, to formalize the designation, which comes because the president has signed off on unprecedented airstrikes on alleged drug-carrying boats within the Caribbean from Venezuela.
“No bomb does what that is doing,” Trump mentioned in remarks from the Oval Workplace, pointing to overdose deaths attributable to fentanyl in the USA. “So we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.”
Trump signed the order as he awarded service members medals for his or her work securing the U.S.-Mexico order.
It was not instantly clear what the classification will imply for the Trump administration’s efforts to curb the circulate of fentanyl, which is estimated to have killed greater than 80,000 Individuals in 2024.
“Illicit fentanyl is nearer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic,” the order reads. “Two milligrams, an nearly undetectable hint quantity equal to 10 to fifteen grains of desk salt, constitutes a deadly dose. Tons of of 1000’s of Individuals have died from fentanyl overdoses.”
The federal government has traditionally used the time period “weapons of mass destruction” to explain weapons of battle. The Division of Homeland Safety defines weapons of mass destruction as “radiological, chemical, organic, or different system that’s supposed to hurt a lot of individuals.”
In February, Trump designated some drug cartels as “international terrorist organizations,” a transfer administration officers argue offers them authorized justification for the strikes on boats within the Caribbean.
Attain Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
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