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President Donald Trump signed a historic executive order declaring illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), warning that the drug poses a threat more comparable to a chemical weapon than a narcotic.
“Today, I’m taking another step to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl flooding into our country,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Monday. “With this historic executive order I’m signing today, we are formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction — because that’s what it is.”
The order asserts that illicit fentanyl is “closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic,” noting that as little as two milligrams — “an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt” — can be lethal. It states that hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses and argues that the drug’s production and distribution by organized criminal networks now constitute a significant national-security threat.
It describes cartel operations responsible for supplying fentanyl to the United States as fueling “lawlessness” across the Western Hemisphere and helping finance assassinations, terrorist acts, and insurgencies abroad.
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The order also highlights that the two dominant cartels involved in fentanyl trafficking “engage in armed conflict over territory,” creating widespread violence that extends far beyond the drug crisis itself. It also warns of the potential for fentanyl to be weaponized in “concentrated, large-scale terror attacks” by hostile actors — a central justification for invoking WMD authorities.
“As President of the United States, my highest duty is the defense of the country and its citizens,” the order states. “Accordingly, I hereby designate illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals as Weapons of Mass Destruction.”
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The directive outlines a broad interagency strategy to confront fentanyl trafficking using tools typically reserved for nuclear, chemical, and biological threats. It instructs the Justice Department, State Department, Treasury Department, the Department of War, and the Department of Homeland Security to take “appropriate action” to eliminate the threat posed by illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals.
Under Section 2, the order requires the Justice Department to immediately intensify investigations and prosecutions. State and Treasury must target traffickers with sanctions and financial penalties, while the Departments of War and Justice will determine whether military resources should support enforcement efforts.
The Pentagon and Homeland Security are directed to update domestic chemical-incident response plans to include fentanyl, and Homeland Security must use WMD-related intelligence to identify smuggling networks and strengthen counter-fentanyl operations.
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The order concludes with definitions of “illicit fentanyl” and “core precursor chemicals,” and includes standard provisions noting that implementation must comply with existing law, creates no new legal rights, and will be carried out using available appropriations. The Justice Department will cover the cost of publication as part of the order’s implementation.
“This is yet another action in President Trump’s crackdown on fentanyl — on behalf of every American who has lost a loved one to this deadly poison,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X.
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Officials say the WMD designation will enable more aggressive investigations, deeper interagency coordination, and heightened international pressure on cartels and their financial backers, marking one of the most significant escalations in the federal government’s approach to the fentanyl crisis.
“No bomb does what this is doing,” Trump said. “We’re losing 200,000 to 300,000 people every year that we know of. So we’re officially designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.”
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to [email protected].
