America Cracks Down on China’s Role in Fentanyl Epidemic

The United States Justice Department indicted four Chinese chemical firms and eight Chinese nationals on June 23 for supplying Mexican cartels with chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, a drug routinely trafficked into America. Two of the eight individuals were arrested in Honolulu, Hawaii, and taken into custody.

The move marks the first time the Chinese are being prosecuted for their role in the fentanyl crisis, which results in the deaths of more than 100,000 Americans each year.

• The drug is 50 times more potent than heroine.
• It is now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50.
• 150 Americans die of overdoses related to these kinds of synthetic drugs each day—that is one American every nine minutes.

This may sound like just another symptom of broken society that happens organically. But were it not for China’s efforts to destabilize America by causing as many overdose deaths as possible, the U.S. fentanyl crisis would be far less catastrophic.

Ninety-nine percent of the fentanyl is coming from precursor drugs from China, and then it’s manufactured by two cartels, the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels, and they’re the ones that are bringing it across the border. … They [the Chinese authorities] don’t work with us at all anymore. They know who [the precursor dealers] are. We know who they are. Yet they don’t do anything about it.
—David Trone, U.S. House representative

Too little, too late? The June 23 indictments against the Chinese companies and individuals represent a sound step for U.S. authorities. But the Chinese are unlikely to be deterred because their aim is to destabilize U.S. society by causing addictions and overdose deaths. And Chinese firms have shown themselves nimble and crafty over the years. They can easily change their company name to deflect American scrutiny. They can also tweak the compounds of the chemicals they sell cartels to evade U.S. regulations. And it is all with the full backing of the Chinese Communist Party.

Not only is [the Chinese Communist Party] not doing enough to contain this industry. They are actually encouraging this industry through a series of tax breaks, subsidies and other grants.
—Ben Westhoff, journalist

The Trumpet said: In our October 2018 issue, we wrote: “If a foreign enemy wanted to undermine America from within, facilitating the flow of illicit drugs into the country would be an effective way to do it. The People’s Republic of China has adopted just such a strategy.”

Learn more: Read “China’s Drug War—Against America.”