Sen. Tim Scott Adds Amendment Targeting Mexican Drug Cartels To Senate’s NDAA
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has added an amendment to the Senate’s version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) targeting Mexican drug cartels that are trafficking deadly drugs into the United States.
Scott — who is also running for president in the 2024 Republican primary — introduced the “Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off Fentanyl Act,” otherwise known as the “FEND Off Fentanyl Act,” on Tuesday.
The standalone anti-fentanyl trafficking legislation was aimed at the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations, like the Mexican cartels, that are involved with synthetic opioid traffickers and suppliers.
In a statement to The Daily Wire, Scott pointed out that “Mexican traffickers and Chinese drug suppliers are fueling America’s fentanyl crisis.”
The bill would allow government agencies to enhance laws that are already on the books, giving them more authority to disrupt illegal opioid supply chains — as well as penalize those who facilitate fentanyl trafficking.
According to The Daily Wire, the legislation “would also aim to hold accountable imposed sanctions on the illicit drug trade and on those who profit from the transactions through money laundering schemes.”
Fentanyl has been flowing through the U.S.-Mexico border for years now, and has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shows that fentanyl overdoses have become the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18-45 over the last few years. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “drug overdose deaths rose from 2019 to 2021 with more than 106,000 drug overdose deaths reported in 2021. Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021.”
Deaths specifically from fentanyl made up nearly 65% of overdose deaths that year.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram discussed these deaths while testifying to Republicans lawmakers in the House Appropriations Committee budget hearing earlier this year, laying the blame at the feet of two major Mexican drug cartels — the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation criminal organizations.
Milgram referred to both cartels as “the greatest drug threat this country has ever faced.”
“The drug cartels responsible for bringing fentanyl into this country are ruthless and extremely violent criminal enterprises,” the DEA administrator added. “They rely on a global supply chain to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, and they rely on a global illicit financial network to pocket billions of dollars.”
According to DEA officials, the primary sources of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the U.S. are Mexico, China and India. More than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl were seized by the DEA in 2022, which is enough to kill every single American.
In a press release, Scott called out communist China and Mexican drug cartels for their fentanyl trafficking scheme — noting that his amendment to the NDAA will help defend American communities from the deadly drug.
“Given the sharp increase in fentanyl-caused deaths, it is clear that a staggering amount of fentanyl is making its way into our country from the chemical suppliers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and drug cartels in Mexico,” the press release read.
“By including this bill in the NDAA, we’re one step closer to ensuring our country can defend our communities from this deadly drug and protecting our national security,” the press release continued.
The Republican-led House passed its version of the NDAA last week, which included key conservative amendments that are unlikely to pass through the Democrat-controlled Senate.
