After a recent meeting between a U.S. committee and the President of Mexico at the National Palace to address various issues, including the fentanyl trafficking emergency, Senator Sherrod Brown announced through a statement that the U.S. Senate has just approved legislation that would enable the United States to seize assets from Mexican drug traffickers.

 

Under the argument that approximately 100,000 people die due to synthetic opioids, the U.S. Senate is taking steps to hold those responsible by passing what they call the "FEND Off Fentanyl Act" or the "Fentanyl Elimination and Narcotics Deterrence Act."

 

With this law, the aim is to freeze the assets of both criminal organizations and international companies involved, while also urging President Joe Biden to utilize these funds in public policies directed towards combating the fentanyl crisis.

 

It's worth mentioning that a few weeks ago, the DEA had uncovered a network of fentanyl precursors involving several Chinese companies. Therefore, this legislation, which still needs to pass through the House of Representatives, seeks to disrupt the supply chains and money laundering operations of these companies providing raw materials to Mexico.

 

This initiative was approved as part of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for 2024 (NDAA), following a detailed report presented by the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Anne Milgram, on the cities and states controlled by various criminal groups. This claim was challenged by AMLO, who demanded an explanation regarding the source and acquisition of this data, as Mexican authorities do not possess such information.