U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, has joined Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., and U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Indiana, and Tim Kaine, D-Va., to lead a bipartisan effort to shine the spotlight on fentanyl trafficking.
This will be done by utilizing the tools of the Department of Defense and involving Mexico as an active partner to combat this crisis and disrupt drug cartel and trafficking activity.
This effort will be called the Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023.
“The Central Coast of California has been devastated by the scourge of fentanyl on our streets, with some areas seeing more than 700% spikes in fentanyl-related overdose deaths in recent years,” Rep. Carbajal said in a statement.
Fentanyl is a leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45, and an estimated 196 Americans are dying every day due to fentanyl.
According to Santa Barbara County data, of the 168 overdose deaths in the county in 2022, 115 were fentanyl-related, compared to 75 in 2021 and 32 in 2019. In Ventura County, fentanyl-related overdose deaths have risen more than 800% in recent years — with 181 deaths in 2022 compared to 22 in 2017. In San Luis Obispo County, overdose deaths involving fentanyl climbed from 9 in 2019 to 74 in 2021.
The Department of Defense plays a role in the nation’s counter-drug intelligence and monitoring operations, and these operations are meant to provide federal law enforcement with actionable intelligence to further investigations. However, a lack of interagency cooperation has hampered the federal government’s counter-fentanyl efforts, according to Rep. Carbajal and his colleagues.
There are multiple ways the Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 is designed to strengthen these efforts. It will declare fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels and smugglers. It will also direct the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with foreign nations.
The act will also require the secretary of defense to increase security cooperation with the Mexican military and address coordination efforts between the military and federal law enforcement agencies.
email: abahnsen@newspress.com
