Trump signs order declaring illicit fentanyl a 'weapon of mass destruction,' citing national-security risks

President Donald Trump signed a historical enforcement bid declaring illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), informing that the cause poses a menace much comparable to a chemic limb than a narcotic.

"Today, I'm taking different measurement to support Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl flooding into our country," Trump said from the Oval Office connected Monday. "With this historical enforcement bid I'm signing today, we are formally classifying fentanyl arsenic a limb of wide demolition — due to the fact that that's what it is."

The bid asserts that illicit fentanyl is "closer to a chemic limb than a narcotic," noting that arsenic small arsenic 2 milligrams — "an astir undetectable hint magnitude equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of array salt" — tin beryllium lethal. It states that hundreds of thousands of Americans person died from fentanyl overdoses and argues that the drug’s accumulation and organisation by organized transgression networks present represent a important national-security threat.

It describes cartel operations liable for supplying fentanyl to the United States arsenic fueling "lawlessness" crossed the Western Hemisphere and helping concern assassinations, violent acts, and insurgencies abroad.

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The bid besides highlights that the 2 ascendant cartels progressive successful fentanyl trafficking "engage successful equipped struggle implicit territory," creating wide unit that extends acold beyond the cause situation itself. It besides warns of the imaginable for fentanyl to beryllium weaponized successful "concentrated, large-scale panic attacks" by hostile actors — a cardinal justification for invoking WMD authorities.

"As President of the United States, my highest work is the defence of the state and its citizens," the bid states. "Accordingly, I hereby designate illicit fentanyl and its halfway precursor chemicals arsenic Weapons of Mass Destruction."

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US President Donald Trump signs an enforcement bid during a Mexican Border Defense medal presumption successful the Oval Office of the White House successful Washington, DC, US, connected Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. Trump said helium was classifying fentanyl arsenic a "weapon of wide destruction" successful his latest propulsion to ratchet up unit connected Latin America implicit cause trafficking. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The directive outlines a wide interagency strategy to face fentanyl trafficking utilizing tools typically reserved for nuclear, chemical, and biologic threats. It instructs the Justice Department, State Department, Treasury Department, the Department of War, and the Department of Homeland Security to instrumentality "appropriate action" to destruct the menace posed by illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals.

Under Section 2, the bid requires the Justice Department to instantly intensify investigations and prosecutions. State and Treasury indispensable people traffickers with sanctions and fiscal penalties, portion the Departments of War and Justice volition find whether subject resources should enactment enforcement efforts. 

The Pentagon and Homeland Security are directed to update home chemical-incident effect plans to see fentanyl, and Homeland Security indispensable usage WMD-related quality to place smuggling networks and fortify counter-fentanyl operations.

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President Donald Trump speaks during a measure signing ceremonial successful the East Room of the White House successful Washington, DC, connected Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Trump signed authorities that strengthens transgression penalties for fentanyl, hailing it arsenic a historical measurement toward justness successful his latest effort to code the nationalist wellness situation spurred by the deadly drug.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The bid concludes with definitions of "illicit fentanyl" and "core precursor chemicals," and includes modular provisions noting that implementation indispensable comply with existing law, creates nary caller ineligible rights, and volition beryllium carried retired utilizing disposable appropriations. The Justice Department volition screen the outgo of work arsenic portion of the order’s implementation.

"This is yet different enactment successful President Trump’s crackdown connected fentanyl — connected behalf of each American who has mislaid a loved 1 to this deadly poison," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote successful a station connected X.

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Officials accidental the WMD designation volition alteration much assertive investigations, deeper interagency coordination, and heightened planetary unit connected cartels and their fiscal backers, marking 1 of the astir important escalations successful the national government’s attack to the fentanyl crisis.

"No weaponry does what this is doing," Trump said. "We're losing 200,000 to 300,000 radical each twelvemonth that we cognize of. So we're officially designating fentanyl arsenic a limb of wide destruction."

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send communicative tips to [email protected].