PHOENIX -- Attorney General Mark Brnovich is co-leading a group of 16 states in urging the U.S. Department of State to take a tougher approach to stem the influx of deadly fentanyl into their states and the nation as a whole.
In their Thursday letter, sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the attorneys general outlined their concerns about the production and distribution of fentanyl. The attorneys general are asking Secretary Blinken and his department to take a tougher stance on stopping the influx of deadly fentanyl from China and Mexico.
“With raw ingredients readily supplied by Chinese chemical manufacturers, Mexican drug cartels are now producing and smuggling more deadly fentanyl into the United States than we have ever seen,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Yet in the face of this evolving and ominous hazard, the federal government is failing to react. We, therefore, wrote to insist on a fulsome and urgent response to help prevent further devastation and loss of American lives."
Historically, fentanyl was made in China and shipped directly to the United States. Following pressure from the federal government, China began taking action against illicit fentanyl manufacturing within its borders in 2019. However, Chinese labs ended up diverting precursor chemicals for fentanyl manufacturing to other countries, including Mexico.
Fentanyl has been smuggled into the United States from Mexico in alarming quantities. According to the U.S. Department of State, seizures of fentanyl directly shipped from China to the United States shrunk dramatically from over 128 kilograms seized in 2017 to less than half a kilogram in 2020.
Today, most fentanyl available in the United States has been trafficked from Mexico across the U.S. Southwest border. Seizures of fentanyl at the border increased from approximately 1,187 kilograms in 2019 to approximately 2,939 kilograms in 2020.
Attorney General Brnovich co-led the letter with West Virginia Patrick Morrisey. The following states joined the coalition: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.
Read a copy of the letter here.
