Sen. Ted Cruz harshly criticized the Biden administration for its polices on the southern border, with the Texas Republican sending out a tweet pointing out that "for the first time ever, more fentanyl than heroin was intercepted at the border."
Cruz was citing an article in the Washington Examiner reporting that federal law enforcement stationed at the borders intercepted more smuggled fentanyl than heroin over the last year for the first time in history.
This corresponded with both fentanyl seizures and overdoses hitting their highest level ever recorded in the United States, demonstrating the success that criminal groups across the borders have had in delivering deadly drugs to the public.
A Drug Enforcement Administration probe last year established a direct link between criminal drug organizations in Mexico and related overdose deaths related to fentanyl.
Making the matter even worse is that drug users are not necessarily choosing to consume fentanyl, but all types of illicit drugs have became more unsafe as street drugs are being laced with fentanyl, according to the Examiner.
Even as federal agencies are making record-high seizures of fentanyl, large amounts are evading them, as evidenced by the rise in fentanyl-caused overdose deaths.
Because just a few grains is all it takes for a user to feel the effect of fentanyl, its value per ounce is higher than other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period leading up to April, up from 78,000 the previous year.
This past August, Cruz and other GOP senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee urged the panel to convene a hearing to evaluate the Biden administration's strategy to curb fentanyl overdoses, according to a Cruz press release.
This past month President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on foreigners involved in the global illicit drug trade, including any individual who engages in activities that "materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production," Jurist reported.
Biden declared a national emergency to deal with the threat of international drug trafficking, which he said requires the United States to modernize and update the response to it.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.