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In support of President Joe Biden’s Unity Agenda effort to beat the overdose epidemic, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta released the following statement on new United States sanctions against three Sinaloa cartel fentanyl suppliers in cooperation with Mexico:
“As part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda, we have now sanctioned more than 170 drug traffickers,” said Dr. Gupta. “A key driver of the overdose epidemic is drug traffickers and their profits. President Biden has made clear: that we will crack down on the illicit drug supply chain at every choke point and make drug trafficking more costly at every step of the way. These sanctions are coordinated closely with the Government of Mexico and will help strengthen our critical efforts to disrupt global drug trafficking, a key part of our strategy to beat the overdose epidemic and save lives. We will continue to work across all of government to hold drug traffickers accountable for killing Americans.”
With today’s sanctions, the Biden-Harris Administration has now designated more than 170 individuals and entities for their role in the illicit drug trade, including trafficking fentanyl and precursor chemicals. 76 percent of these sanctions are against the members of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel – the primary suppliers of illicit fentanyl into the United States – and their global network of facilitators, primarily based in the PRC. So far into 2023, sanctions imposed have increased 119 percent over last year’s total.
The sanctions announced, made possible by President Biden’s Executive Order on Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade, strengthen U.S. efforts to degrade the capabilities of drug trafficking organizations and disrupt the supply of illicit drugs like fentanyl entering the country.
During his first State of the Union address, President Biden announced beating the overdose epidemic as one of the four pillars of his Unity Agenda, focused on issues where members of both parties can come together and make progress for the American people. Over the past two years, the Biden-Harris Administration has made addressing global illicit drug trafficking and cracking down on transnational organized crime a key priority in the efforts to beat the overdose epidemic.
To support the Administration’s efforts to save lives and disrupt drug trafficking, President Biden has requested a historic $46.1 billion from Congress for national drug control programs. This represents a $5.0 billion increase from the FY2022 request and a $2.3 billion increase over the FY2023 enacted level. The FY2024 budget also includes an increase in funding for efforts to reduce the supply of illicit drugs and combat drug trafficking. It also includes an increase in funding to support the expansion of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services.
