Kouri Richins, the Utah woman who wrote a children&#8217;s book on processing grief after her husband&#8217;s death, went on a 40-minute rant as she was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing him with fentanyl. 
In March, a jury found the 35-year-old guilty of aggravated murder for lacing her husband Eric Richins’ drink with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, poisoning him with what&#8217;s known as a Moscow Mule cocktail,<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kouri-richins-murder-trial-sentencing-fa8c4b159827eef080cfa104a316454c"> according to the Associated Press.</a> Jurors also convicted the mother of three on four additional felonies, including insurance fraud, forgery, and attempted murder for giving her husband a fentanyl-laced sandwich on Valentine&#8217;s Day. 
Judge Richard Mrazik imposed the maximum sentence, rejecting the possibility of parole.
“A person convicted of those things is simply too dangerous to ever be free,” Mrazik said. 
Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in bed on March 4, 2022, at the couple&#8217;s Park City home. An <a href="https://abcnews.com/US/utah-mom-kouri-richins-set-sentenced-fatally-poisoning/story?id=132889104&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">autopsy report</a> determined he died from fentanyl intoxication. The sentencing coincided with what would have been his 44th birthday.
According to the Associated Press, Kouri Richins, a real estate agent who operated a house-flipping business, was millions of dollars in debt and romantically involved with another man. She had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, believing she would inherit more than $4 million after his death.
The victim&#8217;s father, Eugene Richins, urged the court to impose the maximum penalty to protect his grandchildren from their mother. 
“This sentence is important so Eric’s three sons never have to live with the fear that the person responsible for taking their father could ever harm them again,” he said during the sentencing hearing,<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kouri-richins-murder-trial-sentencing-fa8c4b159827eef080cfa104a316454c"> according to the Associated Press. </a>
Speaking to her young children at the sentencing, Richins broke into a 40-minute rant where she insisted she was innocent while admitting that she is &#8220;not perfect.&#8221; 
&#8220;I know that today you don&#8217;t want to speak to me, have a relationship with me,&#8221;<a href="https://abcnews.com/US/utah-mom-kouri-richins-set-sentenced-fatally-poisoning/story?id=132889104&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn"> she said, according to ABC.</a> &#8220;You may think you hate me, and that&#8217;s okay. I will never be angry at you for your feelings. When the day comes that you&#8217;re ready, I will be here for you, waiting for you, and loving you.&#8221;
&#8220;I have succeeded and I have failed as a person, as a wife, as a parent &#8212; we all do,&#8221; she added.
Richins&#8217; arrest drew national attention, in part due to the children&#8217;s book she published. Released a year after her husband’s death, “Are You With Me?” aimed to help her boys process the loss of their father. The book, which has fewer than two stars in reviews, drew a wave of outraged responses.
&#8220;This is horrifying, writing a book about grief to then be the one who murdered your husband? How can you do that to someone?&#8221; one social media user said.
&#8220;What an absolute psychopath!&#8221; another person said.

Husband Killer And Children’s Grief Author Breaks Into 40-Minute Monologue

Courts

Fentanyl

Murder

U.S.

Utah

President Donald Trump on Monday announced the classification of illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, opening the door for the federal government to go even harder against the drug cartels.
Trump signed the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/designating-fentanyl-as-a-weapon-of-mass-destruction/">executive order</a>, enhancing penalties for fentanyl traffickers and tasking the Department of War with countering the cartels producing the lethal narcotic.
&#8220;No bomb does what this is doing. 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year that we know of, so we&#8217;re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction,&#8221; Trump said while awarding troops with medals for securing the southern border on Monday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 President Trump announces a groundbreaking Executive Order classifying fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction:
&#8220;No bomb does what this is doing. 200 to 300 THOUSAND people die every year — that we know of.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/OwuA2KQXfX">pic.twitter.com/OwuA2KQXfX</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/2000666914654163022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
Trump&#8217;s former acting Drug Enforcement Administrator, Derek Maltz, told The Daily Wire that the designation has been a long time coming and that it will shut down the cartels&#8217; financing &#8220;at a new level.&#8221;
He said that it will allow the Department of War to &#8220;use all capabilities, authorities and expertise to up the game at a new level.&#8221;
The designation will also open the door for the federal government to take further actions when it comes to other and even more deadly drugs that have emerged in the illicit market.
&#8220;With this new designation, they will also be able to add the additional deadly chemical substances like nitazenes class of poison being made in adversarial labs to kill our citizens,&#8221; Maltz said in reference to a newly emerging synthetic narcotic up to 40 times deadlier than fentanyl.
Two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of salt, is enough to kill the average adult.
The Trump administration has already taken steps to stop the flow of illicit drugs by designating certain drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and carrying out nearly 20 strikes against alleged trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela.

President Trump Presents The Mexican Border Defense Medal At The White House

‘No Bomb Does What This Is Doing’: Trump To Classify Fentanyl As WMD

Cartels

Donald Trump

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton suggested Sunday that the Trump administration might soon begin to “murder” Americans.
Moulton, who is running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, made the radical claim during an appearance on CNN in which he suggested that the administration’s actions against narcoterrorists in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean may be replicated against Americans.
“The President of the United States and his secretary of Defense are conducting murder on the high seas. They&#8217;re committing murder and Americans should care,” <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/1997768199379505464">said</a> Moulton. “None of us like drug traffickers, but we have laws that say that drug traffickers don&#8217;t get summarily executed, and if it&#8217;s happening off the coast of America with people that we don&#8217;t know, just give it time before Donald Trump starts doing the same kind of thing to people we do know right here at home.”
The administration has declared major drug cartels in South America as terror groups, and positioned roughly 15,000 troops in the Caribbean Sea to combat narcoterrorists trafficking fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States. The U.S. military has destroyed roughly two dozen boats and submarines in international waters that the administration said were trafficking illicit drugs.
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Democrats ramped up criticisms of the Trump administration’s war on drugs after a report from The Washington Post last month claimed that War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a “kill them all” order carried out against survivors of a destroyed drug-running vessel.
Top military officials have contested the report. Adm. Mitch Bradley said in a closed-door hearing in Congress last week that Hegseth never gave such an order. In one September incident that has become the basis for Democratic claims of war crimes, Bradley made the call to send a follow-up strike against a vessel that he deemed was still a threat.
Democrats have pushed to have the classified video of the follow-up strike made public. Sen. Tom Cotton, who has seen the video, appeared on NBC News on Sunday and said he had “no problem” with releasing it as long as doing so does not risk national security.
“I will say that the [Department of War] may have valid concerns about revealing what we know about tactics and techniques that these cartels are using or about our sources or methods,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-cotton-has-no-problem-with-releasing-video-of-drug-boat-double-tap">said</a> Cotton. “I would trust Secretary Hegseth and his team to make the decision about whether they can declassify and release the video. But again, there’s nothing remarkable on that video in my opinion.”

Seth Moulton

Dem Congressman Suggests Trump Will ‘Murder’ Americans Like Narcoterrorists

Congress

Department of Defense

Department of War

Drug Cartels

Drugs

Massachusetts

Pete Hegseth

Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Advocates and angel families who lost children to the opioid epidemic applauded news Monday that President Donald Trump had signed the SUPPORT Act, legislation that strengthens resources for Americans facing substance use disorders.
Trump signed the legislation into law on Monday afternoon, reauthorizing and revising programs within the Department of Health and Human Services addressing substance use disorders, overdoses, and mental health.
Sandy Snodgrass, the mother of a victim named Bruce, and co-founder of Fentanyl Fathers and Angel Army, said simply: “The SUPPORT Act and Bruce’s Law will simply save the lives of young Americans.”
Another bereaved father, Greg Swan, thanked the president for listening to the story of his grieving family, noting that Trump created the original SUPPORT Act back in 2018. Monday&#8217;s action renewed the law with the addition of &#8220;Bruce&#8217;s Law,&#8221; written by Snodgrass, he said.
&#8220;Now we are empowered and backed by the Support Act to go into all 26,727 reluctant USA High Schools and preach the dangers of fentanyl as a bereaved army, the Angel Army,&#8221; said Swan, who is co-founder of Fentanyl Fathers and Angel Army. &#8220;110,000 lives will be saved by youth alone &#8211; and you can double that by the number of bereaved parents who WILL NOT have to have an empty chair for their &#8216;Tiny Tim.&#8217;”
Drew Siegel, co-founder of Victoria&#8217;s Voice, said that his organization is &#8220;forever grateful&#8221; to Trump and his administration for &#8220;answering the prayers of millions of bereaved parents, siblings, friends, and families across our country.&#8221; Drew&#8217;s sister, Victoria, is also a victim of a drug overdose.
&#8220;This is for you, Victoria,&#8221; he said simply. &#8220;We love you, and we miss you every day.”
<div id="attachment_1008249" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/angel-families-praise-trump-for-signing-law-to-combat-substance-abuse/president-trump-speaks-on-progress-made-combatting-opiod-crisis-in-east-room-of-white-house" rel="attachment wp-att-1008249"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1008249" class="wp-image-1008249 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-864x576.jpg" alt="U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an East Room event at the White House October 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the administration's declaration of combating the opioid crisis. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an East Room event at the White House October 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the administration&#8217;s declaration of combating the opioid crisis. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)</div>
Robert Branner, co-founder of Fentanyl Fathers, described the legislation as &#8220;a lifeline for American families.&#8221;
&#8220;It is an Act designed to save lives, strengthen communities, and protect our children from a crisis that is touching every corner of this nation,&#8221; he argued. &#8220;I stand here as a Father who lost a daughter because she did not know the dangers of taking a pill that was not prescribed to her. She didn’t know it could be laced with fentanyl. She didn’t know one single pill could stop her heart. She didn’t know because she was never taught.&#8221;
Branner says the new law matters for all Americans, recognizing that &#8220;prevention is protection.&#8221;
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&#8220;It invests in education, awareness, treatment, and support,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It brings resources to schools, families, and communities so our children do not grow up uninformed, unprotected, and unaware. If my daughter had received the education that the SUPPORT Act encourages, if she had been taught early about the dangers of unprescribed opioids she might still be here today. And I know I am not alone. Families across this country have the same story, the same pain, the same loss.&#8221;
&#8220;The SUPPORT Act is an equalizer,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It doesn’t pick and choose which families to help. It reaches across race, class, background, and zip code because addiction and fentanyl do not discriminate. Education, prevention, and support should not either. &#8230; It saves lives. It strengthens families. And it gives our children the knowledge they need to survive in a world where one pill can take everything.”

Angel Families Praise Trump For Signing Law To Combat Substance Abuse

Health

Opioid Crisis

White House

Mexican cartels amassed fortunes on par with major corporations, but that has all changed since President Donald Trump closed the border.
Under the Biden administration, the Mexican cartels&#8217; profits jumped from $500 million in 2018 to an estimated $13 billion in 2022, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/25/us/migrant-smuggling-evolution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times. The massive flow of cash was largely due to their migrant smuggling enterprise, which grew even more profitable than their vast drug empire.
Border Patrol agents were instructed to release illegal crossers into the United States as swiftly as possible under then-President Joe Biden, and many likened what the job had become to aiding in the smugglers&#8217; enterprise.
But now that&#8217;s all changed since Trump&#8217;s return to office. For the last six months, the Trump administration hasn&#8217;t released a single illegal border crosser into the country, putting an end to the major catch and release pipeline and driving migrant encounters to record lows.
Smugglers, however, have grown desperate to maintain their profits, shifting operations to the high seas to move people illegally into the U.S.
Along the California coast, the pace of interdictions of boats packed with illegal immigrants has remained constant.
Last fiscal year, the Coast Guard encountered &#8220;well over&#8221; 2,000 illegal immigrants. And traffic has remained &#8220;fairly steady&#8221; with the Coast Guard seeing an increase in interdictions, Coast Guard Capt. Jason Hagen, who is the southwest district chief of enforcement, told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.
&#8220;As you lock down the land border, the cartels will need to make their money, so they push to the maritime, to the water side. And, unfortunately, there is no border wall in the ocean; we&#8217;re challenged with the tyranny of distance,&#8221; Hagen said.
Earlier this month, Coast Guardsmen in San Diego&#8217;s Mission Bay were forced to fire several rounds to disable the engine of a 20-foot smuggling boat carrying 12 <a href="https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4330965/coast-guard-interdicts-12-aliens-offshore-mission-bay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal immigrants</a> from Mexico and El Salvador as they tried to escape.
<div id="attachment_1004923" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004923" class="wp-image-1004923 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg.webp" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg-150x150.webp 150w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Credit: Customs and Border Protection</div>
Days later, Navy sailors came across a small boat packed with <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-apprehends-17-illegal-aliens-coastal-waters-near-san-clemente" target="_blank" rel="noopener">17 illegal migrants</a> traversing the sea near San Clemente Island. Border Patrol took them into custody, as is standard procedure.
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At least four illegal migrants died after their boat recently capsized off Imperial Beach in a separate incident. The Justice Department has since hit a Mexican man believed to be the captain with charges of &#8220;Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain&#8221; that could result in life in prison, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/two-charged-human-smuggling-event-led-least-four-deaths">according</a> to the Justice Department.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a dangerous game, and I can tell you the cartels are not in the business of safety, they&#8217;re in the business of money,&#8221; Hagen said.
The cartels have also increased their maritime smuggling fees.
Under the Biden administration, they were charging illegal immigrants between $10,000 &#8211; $15,000 in smuggling fees to take to the seas. Now, they&#8217;re forcing migrants to pay between $20,000 &#8211; $40,000, Manny Bayon, the President of the Border Patrol union’s San Diego chapter, told The Daily Wire.
Bayon echoed that maritime smuggling in the Pacific Ocean has picked up &#8220;due to the increased enforcement on the southern border.&#8221;
In response, federal authorities are now preparing to bolster security along the coastal border by installing new thermal imaging cameras to spot smuggling activity before it reaches America&#8217;s shores, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2025-11-19/san-clemente-cbp-maritime-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.

Untitled design – 2025-11-21T120849.513

How Cartels Are Shifting Tactics After Trump Crushed Their Human Smuggling Empire

How Cartels Have Changed Tactics After Trump Destroyed Their Multi-Billion Dollar Human Smuggling Bu

Border

Cocaine

Smuggling

The Treasury Department announced sanctions on Monday against an illicit fentanyl network tied to the Sinaloa Cartel as the Trump administration ramps up its war on drug traffickers. 
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions would impact eight Mexicans and 12 Mexico-based companies tied to the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Chapitos faction. The State Department has designated the Sinaloa Cartel a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
“Over 500,000 Americans have died of fentanyl poisoning,” said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley. “President Trump has made clear that stopping the deadly flow of drugs into our country is a top national security priority. Under Secretary Bessent’s leadership, the Treasury Department is committed to dismantling the complex financial networks that support these terrorist organizations.”
The main company targeted by the sanctions is Sumilab, which the department said was responsible for shipping fentanyl precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel. A number of individuals affiliated with the company, including Jorge Luis Favela Lopez, Francisco Favela Lopez, Victor Andres Favela Lopez, and Martha Emilia, were all sanctioned. 
The department said that the family was “responsible for supplying and distributing precursor chemicals and lab equipment to Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated chemical brokers and lab operators, who produce illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine.”
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-981565 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-06-at-9.20.23-AM.png" alt="" width="1583" height="1183" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-06-at-9.20.23-AM.png 1583w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-06-at-9.20.23-AM-300x224.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-06-at-9.20.23-AM-771x576.png 771w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-06-at-9.20.23-AM-768x574.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-06-at-9.20.23-AM-1536x1148.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1583px) 100vw, 1583px" /></div>
Sumilab was first targeted by the Treasury Department back in 2023, after which the company removed signs from its building.
<div id="attachment_981557" style="width: 634px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-981557" class="wp-image-981557 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/unnamed-5.png" alt="" width="624" height="188" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/unnamed-5.png 624w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/unnamed-5-300x90.png 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" />Treasury Department</div>
Also sanctioned was Martha Emilia Conde Uraga, who, the department stated, was a “longtime” Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated chemical broker operating out of several locations in Culiacán, Mexico.
“Utilizing fraudulent invoicing and other concealment methods, Conde Uraga supplies precursor chemicals to drug traffickers and lab operators working for the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel,” the department said. 
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Seven other chemical, laboratory equipment, and agriculture-related companies operated by the Favela Lopez family, including Agrolaren, Viand, Favelab, Qui Lab, and Storelab, were also sanctioned, the Trump administration said. 
As a result of the sanctions “all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to” the department and “any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.”

President Trump Signs Executive Order In The Oval Office

Trump’s Treasury Sanctions Entities Tied To Notorious Mexican Cartel

Sinaloa Cartel

Treasury Department

Vice President JD Vance on Saturday bluntly defended the Trump administration&#8217;s recent targeted U.S. Military strike of Tren de Aragua cartel drug smugglers.
&#8220;Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,&#8221; Vance posted to X.
Far-Left social media activist Brian Krassenstein replied to Vance, &#8220;Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t give a s*** what you call it,&#8221; the VP bluntly responded. The response, only posted hours ago, already has over 1.3 million views.
<div id="attachment_969361" style="width: 895px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969361" class="wp-image-969361 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-885x576.png" alt="" width="885" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-885x576.png 885w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-300x195.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-768x500.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM.png 1164w" sizes=" (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px" />Screenshot: X</div>
Vance later doubled-down, mockingly posting, &#8220;Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia. Republicans: actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia.
Republicans: actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1964341366298660905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
This is certainly not the first time Vance has been blunt in his response to Left-wing defenses of apparent criminals. Vance notably went viral back in January when CBS anchor Margaret Brennan tried to argue about when exactly an Afghan national who was plotting a terror attack in the U.S. was radicalized. “I don’t really care, Margaret,” Vance memorably interrupted her argument.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
“I don&#8217;t really care, Margaret.“
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
<a href="https://t.co/qpAKCxDalh">pic.twitter.com/qpAKCxDalh</a>
— Ginny Robinson (@ImGinnyRobinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImGinnyRobinson/status/1883627417744625731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of Americans have suffered synthetic opioid-related deaths. During the open-border Biden era, tens of thousands of pounds of fentanyl were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). It&#8217;s unclear how much fentanyl made it into the U.S. illegally. Trump&#8217;s administration has not only closed the border and started deporting illegals, but they are being proactive with cartel members.
This past week, as referenced by Vance, Trump posted a video of the military strike against Tren de Aragua members in the Caribbean Sea. As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">The Daily Wire</a>, the strike took place in international waters and killed nearly a dozen terrorist cartel members carrying illicit drugs, according to Trump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Drone+Strikes+Cartel+Drug+Boat%2C+Trump+Posts+Video+For+World+To+See%3A+%E2%80%98BEWARE%21%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strikes</a> against drug cartels are only getting started, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said on Wednesday that the Trump administration would no longer rely on stopping drug runners when they arrive on U.S. soil, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blow-them-up-rubio-says-trump-will-direct-more-strikes-against-narco-terrorists">The Daily Wire</a> reported. Instead, the United States will take out cartel members before they reach the country to spread their “poison.”
“Interdiction doesn’t work because these drug cartels — what they do is they know they’re going to lose 2% of their cargo. They bake it into their economics,” Rubio said. “What will stop them is when you blow them up. You get rid of them.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">U.S. Drone Strikes Cartel Drug Boat, Trump Posts Video For World To See: ‘BEWARE!’</a>

US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-VANCE-WALZ

‘I Don’t Give A S***’: Vance Goes Viral With Defense Of Cartel Strike

Illegal Immigration

JD Vance

Marco Rubio

Tren De Aragua

Venezuela

The Justice Department announced Wednesday a “first-of-its-kind” indictment against 22 Chinese nationals and three Americans for allegedly engaging in an international drug trafficking scheme targeting the United States. 
An indictment handed down Wednesday from a federal grand jury in Ohio takes aim at dozens of defendants and four Chinese companies for a plot to ship drug-cutting agents, used to dilute the product and increase its volume to boost profits, from China into America. All the defendants are charged with conspiring with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a fentanyl mixture and conspiring to launder money internationally.
“Today’s announcement marks a first-of-its-kind international operation for the FBI targeting the fentanyl plague that has killed tens of thousands of Americans and indicting the companies and individuals in mainland China that manufacture the precursor chemicals fueling the destruction of our communities,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. 
Prosecutors say that the companies used a number of Chinese nationals “located overseas” to negotiate for payments for illegal cutting agents to drug traffickers in Ohio. Cutting agents are often added to illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, and meth. 
The Chinese companies targeted include Guangzhou Tengyue Chemical Company, Guangzhou Wanjiang Biotechnology Company, Hebei Hongjun New Material Technology Company, and Hebei Feilaimi Technology Company. 
The Americans charged in the operation include 39-year-old Eric Michael Payne of Ohio and his 24-year-old girlfriend, Auriyon Tresan Rayford. Ciandrea Bryne Davis of Atlanta was also charged for her alleged role in using cryptocurrency to pay Chinese nationals associated with companies for the drug-cutting agents. 
Payne is accused of purchasing several kilogram shipments of cutting agents from Chinese companies posing as legitimate pharmacies. He and the other Americans allegedly purchased at least 10 kilograms of fentanyl agents since 2022 that could be used in up to 150 kilograms of fentanyl mixture sold on the streets. 
“Our indictment alleges that Chinese companies and affiliated foreign nationals intentionally and openly marketed, delivered, and exported to the United States controlled substances and other compounds that they knew would be used by domestic drug dealers to increase the yield and potency of fentanyl distributed in this country,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Dominick Gerace II. “As explained in court documents, these deadly drug mixtures were then sold directly into our communities here in southern Ohio.”
The Chinese defendants were listed as Lihui Zhao, [name unknown], Shanhong Jiang, Yan Yang, Fengdi Zhang, Dehui Xia, Xing Wu Chen, Qing Lin Wang, Xiaojun Huang, Meixiang Yao, Zhanpeng Huang, Yuqing Feng, Dongjing Sun, Chengqi Nong, Tiduo Wei, Zhisong Nie, Jichao Zhu, Zhengzhe Yin, Changgen Du, Hongfei Wang, Huatao Yao, and Xuening Gao.

Press conference at White House

22 Chinese Nationals Charged In International Drug Trafficking Scheme

China

Department of Justice

kash patel

Ohio

Thanks to China, the use of fentanyl at the workplace in America is soaring.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentanyl-china-joni-ernst-intentionally-poisoning-americans/">said</a> back in February 2023 that China was conducting warfare against the United States by intentionally flooding the country with fentanyl, declaring, “The Chinese are selling these precursor chemicals into Mexico. Then the Mexican cartels are working on making the fentanyl and distributing up into the United States. I think that the Chinese are intentionally poisoning America.”
A National Drug Threat Assessment from the DEA <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/DIR-008-21%202020%20National%20Drug%20Threat%20Assessment_WEB.pdf">said</a> that the Mexican drug cartels “use a combination of methods to obtain chemicals used for fentanyl production in Mexico, primarily from sources originating in China, including purchases made on the open market, smuggling chemicals hidden in legitimate commercial shipments, mislabeling shipments to avoid controls and the attention of law enforcement, and diversion from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.”
“In randomized workplace drug tests, the presence of the <a href="https://archive.is/o/AIYI4/https:/www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/what-is-fentanyl-drug-opioid-health-safety-explained-11658341650">synthetic opioid fentanyl</a> was 1.13% in 2024. That is up from 0.91% in 2023 and double the rate in 2020, according to a recent analysis of more than eight million drug tests by Quest Diagnostics,” The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/fentanyl-work-drug-test-increase-0f0b1eff">reported</a>, adding, “Surprise random tests are a clearer indication of opioid use among workers than pre-employment screening, which subjects can prepare for ahead of time and even game to achieve negative results. &#8230; The opioid epidemic has been a persistent concern for workplaces, especially in occupations in the construction, mining and transportation industries.”
Peter Schweizer, author of “Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-is-the-senior-partner-directing-the-fentanyl-crisis-killing-americans-author-peter-schweizer-says">said</a> the fentanyl trade starts in China, asserting, “They’re the senior partner. The drug cartels are really the junior partner in the fentanyl trade.” He continued, “The Mexican drug cartels now launder their money in Chinese state-owned banks, and, according to our government, they use Chinese students in the United States on education visas to do this.”
In April 2024, former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-barr-blasts-china-during-fentanyl-hearing-solely-responsible-for-mass-slaughter-in-u-s">told</a> the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, “The [People’s Republic of China] is the source of the fentanyl that is slaughtering Americans. China produces nearly all the illicit fentanyl precursors used and the fentanyl introduced into the United States. These are the indispensable ingredients that drive the fentanyl trade. There is no practical alternative for anywhere near the volume of precursors necessary to fuel this trade. Simply put, without China’s production and export of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors, there would be no fentanyl crisis in the United States and the mass slaughter would effectively stop.”

Fentanyl Crisis Escalates In U.S. Workplaces As China Fuels Supply Chain

Crime

Mexico

World

A class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, made in secret Chinese laboratories and 43 times more deadly than fentanyl, is now killing young Americans, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
After two young Texas men died this year from ingesting pills laced with nitazenes, their mothers have launched a campaign to get the U.S. government to focus more on the problem.
“Lucci Reyes-McCallister, 22, died January 26 near Houston, Texas, after taking a pill labeled as Xanax that was actually laced with N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene, an emerging form of nitazene. &#8230; Hunter Clement, 21. died on April 10 after taking a nitazene-laced pill branded to look like a Percocet,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/11/us-news/little-known-synthetic-opioid-nitazene-is-up-to-43-times-more-deadly-than-fentanyl-resistant-to-narcan-and-killing-young-americans/">reported</a>.
“Sometimes I get mad because I couldn’t save my own son, but I do want to save other people, even if it’s just one person in honor of him,” Hunter Clement’s mother, Ruthi, told The Post.
Former acting DEA administrator Derek Maltz said the deaths were part of China’s “ongoing attack against America &#8230; As America is just now really starting to talk about fentanyl, we have now seen all these other substances that are popping up everywhere, and they’re coming out of these labs in China.”
In 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/NDTA_2024.pdf">reported</a> on the “dangerous shift from plant-based drugs to synthetic drugs,” adding:
This shift has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced. These synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, are responsible for nearly all of the fatal drug poisonings in our nation.
“The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels are at the heart of this crisis,” continued. “These two Cartels are global criminal enterprises that have developed global supply chain networks. They rely on chemical companies and pill press companies in China to supply the precursor chemicals and pill presses needed to manufacture the drugs. They operate clandestine labs in Mexico where they manufacture these drugs, and then utilize their vast distribution networks to transport the drugs into the United States.”
“Nitazenes are sold by China-based chemical suppliers through online marketplaces, the Mexican cartels could easily use their existing relationships with those suppliers to obtain nitazenes,” the report stated.
Nitazene analogues were connected to at least five deaths in Philadelphia, “and a dozen more deaths may be attributed to the deadly drugs,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/drug-40-times-stronger-than-fentanyl-plagues-philadelphia">reported</a> in April 2024. “The health department suspects that a nitazene analogue known as N-desethyl isotonitazene was present in 12 overdose deaths in Philadelphia between November and December 2022,” the Philadelphia Inquirer <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/nitazenes-philadelphia-drug-overdoses-opioids-20240409.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/nitazenes-philadelphia-drug-overdoses-opioids-20240409.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712761220662000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0RLaCGzkDdLL2Bhk8u9NaE">reported</a>. Two other nitazene analogues were identified in an overdose victim who died in June 2023.”
Although the drug naloxone can be used to reverse the effects of fentanyl,  the normal dose of naloxone may not be enough to combat the effects of nitazenes.
“Customs <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/buyer-beware-bad-actors-exploit-de-minimis-shipments">officers at JFK are seeing the drug</a> coming through the airport ‘at least a few times a week in quantities ranging from just a few grams to upwards of a pound or more,’ Andrew Renna, Assistant Port Director for Cargo Operations at the airport, said in May,” The Post noted.

Alex Krotulski, 32, associate director and forensic toxicologis

Chinese-Made Opioid Deadlier Than Fentanyl Now Killing Young Americans

Mothers Whose Sons Died From Opioid Far More Lethal Than Fentanyl Alerting Others Of Lurking Menace

Nitazenes

The Trump administration announced sanctions against the leader of Tren de Aragua and other top lieutenants on Thursday amid a broader effort to choke off the transnational criminal organization’s access to cash.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted six leaders of the Venezuelan gang, which has been designated as a foreign terror organization by the Trump administration, including its leader, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores. Also known as Niño Guerrero, he has led the group as it has evolved from a prison gang into a broader criminal entity with a presence in the United States.
“Today’s action highlights the critical role of leaders like Niño Guerrero and his lieutenants in Tren de Aragua’s efforts to increase its destabilizing influence throughout the region,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The sanctions require that any Tren de Aragua property or funds in the United States, or those controlled by American financial institutions, be frozen and reported to the Treasury, thereby restricting the flow of funds back into the hands of the criminal enterprise.
The Treasury notes that Niño Guerrero has been involved in criminal activity for two decades and has led the criminal group as it has become more influential. The State Department is currently offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Guerrero.
The department also sanctioned Yohan Jose Romero, a “close lieutenant” of Guerrero, who the Trump administration says is “responsible for the group’s illegal mining efforts in Venezuela.”
“Johan Petrica provides Tren de Aragua with military-grade weapons used to control the streets of Venezuela and fight against Colombian guerrillas,” the Treasury Department notes.
​​Also sanctioned is Josue Angel Santana Pena, who “is alleged to be involved in homicide, extortion, bombings, terrorism, and theft,” and Niño Guerrero’s wife, Wendy Marbelys Rios Gomez, who the Treasury Department notes is involved in money laundering, terrorism, and terrorist financing.
The Trump administration also sanctioned Wilmer Jose Perez Castillo, who the Treasury Department said has carried out “murders of a policeman, a Venezuelan military official, and Venezuelan intelligence officials” on behalf of the organization.
Felix Anner Castillo Rondon, the leader of a Tren de Aragua cell operating in Chile, has also been sanctioned. His crew is implicated in a range of crimes, including homicides, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of women, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering.
“The Trump Administration will not allow Tren de Aragua to continue to terrorize our communities and harm innocent Americans. In line with President Trump’s mandate to Make America Safe Again, Treasury remains dedicated to dismantling Tren de Aragua and disrupting the group’s campaign of violence.”
The new sanctions come amid a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-treasury-official-reveals-how-the-trump-admin-is-choking-off-cartels-cash-flow?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Treasury+Official+Lays+Out+How+Trump+Is+Choking+Off+Cash+Flow+To+Cartels">sweeping effort</a> by the Treasury Department to cut off cash flow to cartels and gangs in an attempt to eliminate the financial incentives that drive the criminal entities’ drug and human trafficking operations.
Members of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-treasury-dept-launches-sanctions-targeting-sinaloa-cartel">Sinaloa Cartel</a>, the Cartel de Noreste, and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion have all been hit with Treasury sanctions since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent

Trump Admin Hits Tren De Aragua Leaders With Sanctions As Venezuelan Gang Infiltrates U.S.

cartel

Immigration

sanction

Treasury

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill Wednesday aimed at ending the fentanyl drug crisis while surrounded by mothers and fathers of young people who lost their lives to the deadly drug.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll be getting the drug dealers, pushers, and peddlers off our street, and we will not rest until we have ended the drug overdose epidemic,&#8221; he promised attendees in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Trump promised that the legislation would take &#8220;a historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge.&#8221;
The HALT Fentanyl Act permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances as &#8220;Fentanyl Analogs,&#8221; a classification that would expire at the end of the month without the new legislation. An analog is a copycat fentanyl that has been chemically changed just enough to skirt the law, but is just as deadly. The White House argues it must be prosecuted in the same way.
<div id="attachment_948077" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surrounded-by-angel-parents-trump-signs-bill-aimed-at-ending-fentanyl-drug-crisis/president-trump-holds-bill-signing-ceremony-at-the-white-house-5" rel="attachment wp-att-948077"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-948077" class="wp-image-948077 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225436610-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225436610-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225436610-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225436610-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225436610.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Greg Swan, whose son Drew died as a result of a fentanyl-related substance, looks on as Trump speaks during the bill signing (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)</div>
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cmd5yzrwf000c3b6ned8ypatf@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">&#8220;Under the HALT Fentanyl Act, anyone who possesses, imports, distributes, or manufactures any illicit FRS (fentanyl-related substances) will be subject to criminal prosecution in the same manner as any other Schedule I controlled substance,&#8221; reads a White House document shared with The Daily Wire.
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cmd5yzrwf000d3b6nw7knhfd3@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">&#8220;First, we close the loopholes criminals use to skirt around the law,&#8221; the document notes. &#8220;Second, we make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute those criminals.&#8221;
The new legislation amends the Controlled Substances Act to permanently classify these illicit fentanyl knockoffs as Schedule 1. And it fulfills some key campaign promises of Trump, who has heavily messaged to his supporters that he will rein in the fentanyl crisis.
&#8220;For four years, Joe Biden and Democrats hardly muttered a word about the fentanyl crisis, which remains the number one leading cause of death in our country,&#8221; White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared in a statement ahead of the signing. &#8220;President Trump has made securing the border and ending the drug crisis a top priority, and today, he will further follow through on his commitment to the courageous fentanyl moms and dads who elected him to Make America Safe Again.&#8221;
A number of top Trump supporters who have been aggressive on border policy were also present at the event: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Fox News contributor Sara Carter, U.S. Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Senator Jim Banks of Indiana filled the first few rows and were named by the president.
House Speaker Mike Johnson arrived slightly late to the bill signing and quietly slid into a seat in the back, where a delighted mother and son duo were quick to take photos with him.
The president invited several of the angel parents in attendance to speak at the podium. One father, whose son Drew was tragically killed by fentanyl, told Trump on Wednesday afternoon: &#8220;Thank you, Mr. President, for stopping the border crossings. Full stop.&#8221;
&#8220;We were being gaslit,&#8221; he added, &#8220;and you came and lit a fire to that story, and we&#8217;re a lot safer for it.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Surrounded by Angel Parents, Trump Signs Bill Aimed At Ending Fentanyl Drug Crisis

Border Crisis

Karoline Leavitt

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