US imposes sanctions on China and Mexico for producing fentanyl.

U.S. Imposes Sanctions on China and Mexico Over Fentanyl-Laced Pills

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 17 people and entities based in China and Mexico who are accused of enabling the production of counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills. The Biden administration is taking action to stem the imports of this deadly drug.

“Treasury’s sanctions target every stage of the deadly supply chain fueling the surge in fentanyl poisonings and deaths across the country,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl has more than tripled in the United States from 2016 through 2021, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released earlier this month. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and has increasingly been mixed with other illicit drugs often with lethal results.

Sanctions Targeting Enablers of Illicit Drug Production

The U.S. Treasury Department has targeted seven entities and six people based in China, as well as one business and three people based in Mexico. Those targeted are accused of being involved in the sale of pill press machines and other equipment used to impress counterfeit trade markings onto illicitly produced pills, often laced with fentanyl and destined for the United States.

The Biden administration has been pushing for action as U.S. drug-related overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 in 2021, according to government estimates. Washington has been seeking greater help from Beijing in stemming the illicit flow of fentanyl “precursor” chemicals from China, but U.S. officials have told Reuters that Chinese counterparts have been reluctant to cooperate as relations between the two countries have soured.

Disrupting the Deadly Global Production of Fentanyl

The U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions are part of a wider effort to disrupt the deadly global production of fentanyl. Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl constitute a leading cause of drug-related deaths in the United States, devastating thousands of American families each year.

• The sanctions target every stage of the deadly supply chain fueling the surge in fentanyl poisonings and deaths across the country.
• Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl constitute a leading cause of these deaths, devastating thousands of American families each year.
• The Biden administration has been pushing for action as U.S. drug-related overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 in 2021.

The U.S. is committed to using all authorities against enablers of illicit drug production to disrupt this deadly global production and counter the threat posed by these drugs.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Sharon Singleton)