Overview
- DEA Administrator Terry Cole said the designation gives the agency "more tools" and frames fentanyl as a national security threat.
- The December 15 executive order directs the defense secretary and attorney general to determine whether fentanyl threats justify Defense Department support to Justice Department operations.
- Human Rights Watch and other critics warn the move could expand militarized policing and enable abusive or unlawful military actions.
- Experts cite CDC data estimating roughly 48,000 U.S. deaths linked to fentanyl last year, contradicting the president's claim of 200,000–300,000 annual fatalities.
- Reporting ties the policy to a broader escalation that includes at least 26 U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats with at least 99 deaths, which rights groups question on legal and human-rights grounds.