Donald Trump signs executive order declaring fentanyl a 'weapon of mass destruction' amid war on drug cartels
The decree puts the opioid in the same category as nuclear and chemical weapons.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order classifying the drug fentanyl as a 'weapon of mass destruction' amid his ongoing 'war on drug cartels' in Latin America.
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The US President’s decree places the opioid in the same category as nuclear and chemical weapons.
Citing the number of deaths the drug causes each year, Mr Trump said: “No bomb does what this is doing - 200-300,000 people die every year, that we know of”.
The order states that “illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic,” adding that its manufacture and distribution “threatens our national security and fuels lawlessness in our hemisphere and at our borders.”
Over 48,000 people in the US died in 2024 after consuming drug mixtures containing fentanyl, according to the US Centres for Disease Control (DCD).
The White House has also accused Latin American countries such as Mexico of failing to stop criminal gangs from smuggling the drug into the US.
The order comes amid US’s war on drug cartels - which has seen the US reclassify cartels as terrorist organisations.
It has also seen the US launch deadly strikes on boats allegedly trafficking narcotics after Mr Trump’s administration declared the US was in an "armed conflict" with cartels.
US strikes have killed up to 90 people so far - and Mr Trump has warned US military action against suspected Venezuelan drug gangs will move to the land "very soon".
"You probably noticed that people aren't wanting to be delivering by sea, and we'll be starting to stop them by land also,"Mr Trump told military service members in a call last month.
He added: "The land is easier, but that's going to start very soon.
"We warned them to stop sending poison to our country."
Earlier, the US government warned it could order strikes on military targets inside Venezuela at any moment.
Mr Trump has previously said existing tariffs on Mexico and China are partially due to their failure to curb the trade in fentanyl and its component chemicals.