New House cartel task force wants intel agencies to target fentanyl trade

USA Today

3 days ago

New House cartel task force wants intel agencies to target fentanyl trade The U.S. intelligence community said drug cartels were responsible for more than 52,000 fatal drug overdoses in the space of 12 months.
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How fentanyl reaches the US and the role of Trump's China tariffs
US President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods, citing Beijing's failure to stop the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl.
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The new task force was created by the House Intelligence Committee in a rare show of bipartisanship.
'The United States cannot allow Mexico, our neighbor and largest trading partner, to devolve into a failed narco-state run by violent cartels,' Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Tx., said.
Mexico's cooperation in the fight against fentanyl traffickers is one element of Trump's ongoing trade war.
WASHINGTON – In a rare moment of congressional bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats on June 4 announced a new Cartel Task Force to best weaponize U.S. spies and intelligence analysts against Mexican fentanyl trafficking and human smuggling organizations.
The task force will be run through the House Intelligence Committee and led by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas.
The task force will hold hearings on how to improve intelligence collection against drug cartels, and conduct site visits for on-the-ground insight into the U.S. fight against fentanyl and migrant smugglings, Crenshaw said.
The Cartel Task Force is an 'actionable response' to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, said committee chairman Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark.
In that assessment, the ODNI highlighted smuggling and drug cartels – and the fentanyl crisis in particular – as perhaps the top threat to U.S. security.
'Terrorist insurgency'
'Cartels are largely responsible for the more than 52,000 U.S. deaths from synthetic opioids in the 12 months ending in October 2024 and helped facilitate the nearly three million illegal migrant arrivals in 2024, straining resources and putting U.S. communities at risk,' the ODNI said in its report released March 11.
More: Blue Lotus, Four Horsemen, Hydra and Pelican Bones: How the US fights the fentanyl crisis
'The United States cannot allow Mexico, our neighbor and largest trading partner, to devolve into a failed narco-state run by violent cartels,' Crenshaw said in a statement. 'The situation in Mexico has escalated from a drug war to a full-scale terrorist insurgency.'
Mexican officials including President Claudia Sheinbaum have denied the cartels constitute any kind of insurgency but have pledged to work closely with Trump in fighting them.
In a lengthy X post in February, Sheinbaum said her administration had seized more than 40 tons of drugs, including 20 million doses of fentanyl, since taking office in October.
'What we heard from the IC leaders in our worldwide threats hearing earlier this year tells us that this is an important endeavor,' Crawford told USA TODAY, referring to the U.S. intelligence community.
Members of the House Intelligence Committee, with special security clearances, have 'unique access that other committees don't have, that can inform policy and make recommendations' to the full Congress, he said.
Crenshaw said the task force will also look at ways the U.S. and Mexico can work more closely together. 'Together, we will develop actionable, integrated solutions to neutralize this evolving threat and safeguard American lives,' he said.
Ranking Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut praised the bipartisan nature of the task force and said it would 'propose concrete solutions to help protect American lives and interests.'
Mexico's top cartels
The two main Mexican trafficking organizations are the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cartels, and U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials say both have tentacles that reach deep into the United States and around the world.
Besides narcotics trafficking, Sinaloa, CJNG and other groups are also involved in human trafficking, the arms trade and 'other illegal and destabilizing activities,' the ODNI report said.
More: Koi fish, bananas and puppies: the ingenious ways smugglers bring illegal drugs into the US
Both the Senate and House intelligence committees held hearings on the annual worldwide threat assessment earlier this year.
"For the first time, the annual threat assessment lists foreign illicit drug actors as the very first threat to our country," including Mexican cartels and Chinese chemical manufacturers, said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
President Donald Trump campaigned on taking a more aggressive stance against Mexican cartels and the Chinese groups supplying them with precursor chemicals to manufacture fentanyl, which has killed more Americans than any other drug by far.
Mexico's cooperation in the fight against fentanyl traffickers is one element of Trump's ongoing trade war. With support from some lawmakers including Crenshaw, Trump has also declared Mexican cartels terrorist organizations -- and some have suggested Washington should send the U.S. military to kill cartel leaders on their own turf.