Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday classifying fentanyl as a "weapon of mass destruction" as part of his ongoing campaign against drug trafficking.

"Today I am taking a step “More to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl that is flooding our country. With this historic executive order that I will sign today, we will formally classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it truly is," he declared at an event held at the White House. The order instructs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury to take appropriate action against assets and financial institutions relevant to those involved in or supporting the manufacture, distribution, and sale of illicit fentanyl and its principal chemical precursors. "If this were a war, it would be one of the worst wars; I believe that in the last five or six years, between 200,000 and 300,000 people have died each year (from fentanyl). "People talk about 100,000, which is a lot of people, but the number is much higher," the US president explained. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), More than 250,000 people died between 2021 and 2023 alone from overdoses related to synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.

Trump announced the signing of the order at an event held to honor military personnel for their work defending the border with Mexico. The president declared that “there is no doubt that America's adversaries are smuggling fentanyl into the United States, in part because they want to kill Americans.”

The Republican highlighted that during his term, according to him, “a 50% reduction in the amount of fentanyl crossing the border” has been achieved, and assured that China is “working closely” with the US “to reduce the number and amount of fentanyl being shipped.” that the order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to identify fentanyl smuggling networks using intelligence on threats related to weapons of mass destruction and non-proliferation. “We have managed to reduce the number to a much lower figure."It is not satisfactory, but it will soon be," he added. The text of the order states that "illicit fentanyl is more akin to a chemical weapon than a narcotic" and that its production and sale "by foreign terrorist organizations and cartels finances the operations of these entities, which include assassinations, terrorist acts, and insurgencies around the world and enables them to undermine our national security and the well-being of our nation." Therefore, the document states that the possibility of fentanyl being used as a weapon for concentrated and large-scale terrorist attacks by organized adversaries is a serious threat to the United States. The classification could lead to more severe criminal charges for those involved in fentanyl trafficking, although Trump did not specify immediate legal changes.