Washington, Dec 16
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, as he called the synthetic opioid a grave national security threat and vowed intensified action against trafficking networks fueling the crisis.

“With this historic executive order, I will sign today, we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction,” Trump said. “No bomb does what this is doing.”

Trump said fentanyl deaths far exceeded commonly reported figures. “Two hundred to three hundred thousand people die every year that we know of,” he said, describing the impact on American families as devastating.

The President linked fentanyl trafficking to hostile actors targeting the United States. “America’s adversaries are trafficking fentanyl into the United States in part because they want to kill Americans,” he said.

Trump cited major drug seizures as evidence of progress. “In May, we executed the largest fentanyl bust in the history of the US, seizing three million fentanyl pills all at one time,” he said, adding that another 1.7 million pills were seized last month in Colorado.

He said fentanyl shipments entering the country had dropped significantly. “We’ve also achieved a 50 per cent drop in the amount of fentanyl coming across the border,” Trump said, adding that China was “working with us very closely” to curb the flow.

Trump stressed that while fentanyl has legitimate medical uses, illicit production and mixing had turned it into a lethal weapon. “When you mix it with certain things, it becomes bad,” he said. “That’s what’s taking place in Mexico.”

The fentanyl order was announced alongside broader border and security measures, with Trump arguing that drug cartels represented a direct military threat to the United States.

The US fentanyl crisis has emerged as one of the deadliest public health emergencies in modern American history, with synthetic opioids driving a sharp rise in overdose deaths over the past decade. Successive administrations have struggled to stem trafficking routes spanning Latin America, China, and global supply chains.

India has closely followed international efforts to regulate precursor chemicals and combat transnational narcotics networks, cooperating with the US and other partners on drug enforcement while balancing pharmaceutical and public health considerations.

Trump classifies fentanyl as weapon of mass destruction