Washington — President Trump on Monday signed an executive order designating illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, directing the Pentagon and Justice Department to take additional steps to combat production and distribution of the drug and its precursors.
The executive order casts fentanyl as not just a lethal drug, but as a potential chemical weapon. The White House says the move “unleashes every tool to combat the cartels and foreign networks responsible for flooding communities with this deadly substance,” warning that fentanyl could be weaponized for “concentrated, large-scale terror attacks by organized adversaries.”
The designation means the Pentagon could aid the Justice Department with Department of Defense assets to enforce the criminal code related to fentanyl, and the Justice Department will likely pursue harsher penalties for fentanyl-related crimes.
The order comes as the president has said he is preparing to expand the U.S. campaign against alleged drug traffickers in South America, following more than 20 boat strikes against vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Most of the fentanyl that enters the U.S. is manufactured in Mexico using chemicals primarily imported from China and India. The drug is then smuggled into the U.S., mostly through ports of entry.
“With this historic executive order … we’re formally classifying as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is,” the president said at the White House. “No bomb does what this has done. 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year, that we know of. So we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.”
Fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45. The Drug Enforcement Administration says more than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in the U.S. in 2023, and nearly 70% of those deaths were attributed to opioids like fentanyl.
The president’s executive order describes illicit fentanyl as fentanyl that is manufactured, distributed, dispensed or possessed in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. It makes no mention of fentanyl used legally in medical settings.
The FBI defines a WMD as a “destructive device, such as an explosive or incendiary bomb, rocket, or grenade; a weapon that is designed to cause death or serious injury through toxic or poisonous chemical; a weapon that contains a biological agent or toxin;” or “a weapon that is designed to release dangerous levels of radiation or radioactivity.”
Some members of Congress previously sought to classify fentanyl as a WMD.
