Fentanyl on par with chemical weapons. Trump signed the order

According to an analysis conducted by the American station CNN, the Donald Trump administration is trying to give the war on drugs the momentum of the war on terrorism. There are numerous references to the rhetoric of President George W. Bush preceding the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Since the beginning of Donald Trump's new term, he has launched an anti-drug campaign. Under it, cartels were officially designated as terrorist organizations. Boats suspected of carrying drugs are attacked by the US military in the Pacific and Caribbean region.

On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. The document states that Illegal fentanyl is 'closer to a chemical weapon than a drug'. As the president said, “there is no doubt that America's adversaries are smuggling fentanyl into the United States, in part, because they want to kill Americans.” He called the smuggling of this drug “a war in which 200-300 thousand people died every year.” However, as CNN emphasizes, citing data from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), these data are significantly overestimated. According to the GAO, approximately 48,000 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2024.

According to American law, a weapon of mass destruction is any destructive device within the meaning of Art. 921 of this title (bombs, grenades, missiles), poisonous gas, any weapon containing a disease-causing organism, or any weapon designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life.

The term is deeply rooted in the consciousness of American society and brings to mind memories from the months preceding the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Then-president George W. Bush and his administration used false accusations that Saddam Hussein's regime had such weapons in its arsenal as a justification for possible American military involvement in that country. After the start of the Iraq War, no such weapons were found in Iraqi arsenals.

As CNN notes, while Trump is not trying, unlike Bush, to create an international coalition to carry out attacks, he is taking advantage of society's fear of weapons of mass destruction and redirecting it to fentanyl. Similarly, unlike Bush, Donald Trump is not seeking congressional approval for the invasion because he has not said that US troops will be used against Venezuela. He suggested that the United States may soon launch ground attacks.

In the case of Iraq, accusations of possessing weapons of mass destruction against President Bush helped to overthrow Hussein, CNN emphasizes, the Trump administration wants to overthrow another leader – the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. In addition to carrying out attacks on smuggling boats, the US has also amassed a large arsenal of military power in the Caribbean. Republican Hawks like Sen. Lindsey Graham believe that anything short of regime change in Venezuela will weaken the United States and could send the wrong signal to Russia, China or Iran.

Despite numerous similarities leading up to the Iraq War and the actions of the current administration, Trump is acting very differently from George W. Bush. He lacks the public support that Bush enjoyed.

As CNN reminds us, according to a November poll by CBS News and YouGov, less than a quarter of Americans believe that the administration has adequately explained a potential military operation in Venezuela. More than half of respondents support the use of military force to stop drug boats. This public sentiment may have an impact on why the administration wants Americans to view drugs as weapons of mass destruction. (PAP)

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