Earl Anthony Wayne, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico under former President Barack Obama, acknowledged Tuesday that "we have a lot to do" to secure the southern border.
Joining Newsmax's "The Record with Greta Van Susteren," Wayne highlighted the surge in migrant crossings and the rise of illicit fentanyl, suggesting that the Mexican government has its own role in solving the crisis.
"There's a lot being sent northward, and that needs to be turned around," Wayne said about illegal fentanyl, which primarily contributed to the 70,601 overdose deaths in 2021 from synthetic opioids.
"Certainly, we have a lot to do at our border, and we have a lot to do on the routes between our border and our cities," Wayne added.
However, Mexico itself "has a tremendous amount to do" in its country "to stop that fentanyl from getting to the border," Wayne argued, while stressing that laboratories producing the pills also need to be shut down.
"I was just reading a report today done by a research group ... where they went and tested pills at pharmacies in Mexico, and found a number of those pills were also infected with both fentanyl and heroin," the former U.S. official shared.
Wayne was referencing a study by researchers at the UCLA School of Medicine, which found that out of 27 pills tested for traces of the drugs, 10 or 11 contained something potentially lethal.
"So, this is a very serious problem, and we need to have better solutions, better cooperation, better collaboration, better law enforcement action to stop it," Wayne proclaimed.
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