Kentucky AG slams State Department for failing to halt fentanyl crisis
David Zimmermann
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron criticized the Biden administration over its failure to adequately address the fentanyl crisis in the United States and at the southern border.
Cameron submitted a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, imploring the Biden administration to impose harsher restrictions on China and Mexican cartels, both of which are historically responsible for shipping fentanyl into the U.S. Cameron blamed Blinken for allowing the national drug crisis to reach epidemic proportions with lenient policies in place.
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“This is exactly the kind of effort the Trump Administration began and that you have wasted,” Cameron wrote.
The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy shows 73% of overdose deaths were caused by fentanyl in 2021, higher than the national rate of 67%.
In the letter, Cameron recommended the State Department apply international pressure on China to stop exporting the precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl, require China to put all precursors on its list of controlled drugs to prevent them from being shipped, and label Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
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“Designating cartels as FTOs will give state and federal law enforcement agencies increased powers to freeze cartel assets, deny cartel members entry to America, and allow prosecutors to pursue tougher punishments against those who provide material support to the cartels,” Cameron wrote.
A group of 21 attorneys general called on Blinken to declare Mexican cartels as such in February, according to the Kentucky attorney general. So far, Blinken has not done so.