President Donald Trump has vowed to destroy Mexican cartels and end the U.S. fentanyl epidemic. Still, his sweeping freeze on foreign aid has temporarily stopped U.S.-funded anti-narcotics programs in Mexico that for years have been working to curb the flow of synthetic opioids into the United States.
According to REUTERS, all of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) programs in Mexico are currently halted due to the funding freeze, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters. These programs focus heavily on dismantling the fentanyl supply chain, according to State Department budget documents reviewed by Reuters. Their activities include training Mexican authorities to find and destroy clandestine fentanyl labs and to stop precursor chemicals needed to manufacture the illicit drug from entering Mexico.
In Mexico, INL also donates drug-detecting canines that helped Mexican authorities seize millions of fentanyl pills in 2023 alone, according to a March 2024 INL report.
“By pausing this assistance, the United States undercuts its own ability to manage a crisis affecting millions of Americans,” said Dafna H. Rand, former director of the Office of Foreign Assistance at the State Department from 2021 to 2023. “U.S. foreign assistance programs in Mexico are countering the fentanyl supply chain by training local security services and ensuring maximum U.S.-Mexican cooperation in the fight against this deadly drug.”
The State Department, Mexico’s presidency, and the foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the freeze.
More than 450,000 Americans have died of synthetic opioid overdoses over the past decade, with millions more addicted.
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