Key Takeaways:
- The Trump administration has designated illicit fentanyl and its precursors as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), intensifying the criminalization of fentanyl trafficking and use.
- The designation has significant implications for domestic law enforcement, foreign policy, and international relations.
- The move is part of the Trump administration’s overall approach to drug policy, which focuses on maximum-strength supply-side measures and reducing access to treatment.
- The designation may lead to increased penalties for drug dealers, including the death penalty, and longer sentences for those convicted of fentanyl-related crimes.
- The move may also lead to increased military counternarcotics actions abroad and intensified criminalization of drug dealing and use at home.
Introduction to the WMD Designation
The Trump administration’s decision to designate illicit fentanyl and its precursors as a WMD has significant implications for the war on drugs. The move is seen as a welcome development by some families of fentanyl victims, while others view it as merely tough posturing. The designation reinforces the Trump administration’s overall approach to drug policy, which focuses on maximum-strength supply-side measures and reducing access to treatment. The implications of this move range from domestic law enforcement to foreign policy, and it remains to be seen how the administration intends to use the WMD designation.
The Background of the WMD Designation
The idea to designate fentanyl as a WMD was first proposed during the first Trump administration, but it was met with internal pushback from key agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration. However, activists, including families of fentanyl victims, continued to lobby for the designation, and the second Trump administration eventually resurrected the idea. The designation fits into the Trump administration’s overall approach to drug policy, which emphasizes supply-side measures and reduces access to treatment. The administration has also designated 15 criminal groups in Latin America as "foreign terrorist organizations" and has taken steps to gut funding for treatment and harm reduction.
The Legal Implications of the WMD Designation
The primary U.S. legal statute pertaining to the use of WMDs is 18 U.S. Code § 2332a, which criminalizes the use, attempt to use, and conspiracy to use or threaten a WMD against people within the United States, U.S. nationals outside the United States, U.S. property abroad, and in circumstances that affect interstate or foreign commerce. The mere possession of a WMD, including fentanyl, does not immediately trigger domestic terrorism charges. However, the possession and use of a WMD can be classified as domestic terrorism if the intent is to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.
Domestic Implications of the WMD Designation
The designation of fentanyl as a WMD allows federal law enforcement agencies to have jurisdiction and significantly prioritizes their efforts to counter fentanyl. The Trump administration’s executive order tasks the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense to take anti-fentanyl actions under the new WMD designation. However, it remains to be seen whether agencies such as the DHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will treat fentanyl trafficking in the same way as other WMD conspiracies. The WMD designation could lead to increased penalties for drug dealers, including the death penalty for dealers whose doses lead to deadly overdoses. Additionally, the designation may lead to longer sentences for those convicted of fentanyl-related crimes, as WMD offenses fall under federal jurisdiction.
International Implications of the WMD Designation
The WMD designation allows the Trump administration to charge members and sponsors of the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG under WMD terrorism charges. The administration may also use the designation to expand its range of possible military targets beyond the cartels and their labs in Mexico. This could include countries like Guatemala, which serves as a transit point for the smuggling of fentanyl precursors. The administration may also consider charging fentanyl precursor networks in India and China as assisting in WMD proliferation and terrorism, and potentially treating them or their assets as military targets. However, such an approach would likely escalate tensions with China and undermine the administration’s relations with India.
Potential Consequences of the WMD Designation
The WMD designation may lead to a range of consequences, including increased military counternarcotics actions abroad and intensified criminalization of drug dealing and use at home. The administration may also use the designation to pressure other countries into adopting a WMD designation for fentanyl and its precursors. However, if designating potent synthetic drugs as WMDs becomes a trend, it may lead to diluted controls on nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological weapons. This would neither address America’s fentanyl crisis nor serve the Trump administration’s interests. Instead, the administration could promote the screening of a larger portion of global cargo for contraband, such as WMD-designated fentanyl precursors, through mechanisms like the Proliferation Security Initiative.
