WASHINGTON D.C. — In a move that blends national security rhetoric with the ongoing battle against the opioid crisis, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday officially classifying illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Speaking from the Oval Office, where he was also honoring U.S. service members for their work on border protection, the President framed the synthetic opioid as an existential threat to the American public.
“Today I’m taking one more step to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl flooding into our country,” Trump stated. “No bomb does what this is doing.”
The executive order characterizes the fentanyl trade not merely as a criminal enterprise, but as a coordinated threat to national security. The order claims that the production and sale of the drug by Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and cartels fund global insurgencies and assassinations while eroding domestic stability.
To combat this, the order issues several direct mandates to the Cabinet:
- Department of Justice: Attorney General Pam Bondi is directed to “immediately pursue investigations and prosecutions” into fentanyl trafficking.
- State and Treasury Departments: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are tasked with targeting the financial assets of those involved in the manufacture and sale of the drug.
