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"250,000 Americans have died from fentanyl in 5 years"/ VanHorn: Trump has declared war on drug traffickers
2026-05-21 18:03:56 / AKTUALITET
Chargé d'Affaires Nancy VanHorn, at the Conference on Cooperation in the Fight against Illicit Drug Trafficking "Synthetic Drugs and Cannabis Diversion in Southeast Europe", emphasized that deaths from synthetic drugs in the United States are mainly caused by fentanyl.
In a post published by the US Embassy in Tirana on social media, it is noted that since 2021, over a quarter of a million Americans have died from this deadly drug.
"The Trump administration has met this challenge head-on, taking decisive action that has reduced overdose deaths by 35 percent. President Trump has declared war on the sellers, smugglers, and traffickers of these dangerous drugs and is taking aggressive steps to secure our borders and combat drug trafficking," she said.
VanHorn's full speech:
Thank you very much, Darko, for that warm introduction and thank you Ambassador Tarran, dear Michel, it is always a pleasure to appear before you. Directors Keta,
Mr. Nallbati, Mr. Mara, and guests, let me also thank you all for taking the time out of your very important jobs to gather here for these two days to collaborate and exchange ideas, to identify the challenges we all share and the ways we can work together to overcome them.
I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Department of Justice and the ICITAP program, as well as the State Department Bureau for organizing this conference together with our wonderful OSCE partners, to address drug trafficking. I am honored to join you again on this occasion.
Over the next two days, you will discuss the threat of synthetic opioids. There is no topic more critical to the United States than this.
These drugs are the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 and have been linked to over 70,000 deaths in 2023 alone.
Opioid deaths in the United States are primarily caused by fentanyl. As of 2021, over a quarter of a million Americans have died from this deadly drug.
The Trump administration has met this challenge head-on, taking decisive action that has reduced overdose deaths by 35 percent.
President Trump has declared war on the sellers, smugglers, and traffickers of these dangerous drugs and is taking aggressive steps to secure our borders and combat drug trafficking. He has officially designated some of the largest cartels that produce and traffic these drugs as foreign terrorist organizations, which they are.
Past tolerance of such criminals is why the United States has reached the point where it is now facing these fentanyl challenges. President Trump also designated fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, ensuring that our government is, quote: “focused, coordinated, and mobilized to confront fentanyl as the deadly chemical weapon that it is.”
He linked our trade policy to drug control and used a wide range of tools to compel countries to secure their borders and chemical supply chains.
While these efforts are yielding success, we must remain vigilant and stay one step ahead of drug traffickers.
The harsh reality is that the next generation of synthetic opioids are more deadly than fentanyl, cheaper and easier to produce – and they are already in our communities.
A key challenge is to establish the necessary international cooperation to investigate and arrest drug traffickers, locate and seize drug shipments, share analysis of new drug compounds, and strengthen mutual legal assistance.
We appreciate the OSCE’s efforts in the region to strengthen law enforcement and judicial capacity to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate cases of trafficking and organized crime.
This conference is a crucial step towards meeting this challenge.
Here you can share experiences, discuss the trafficking trends you are seeing, and build the connections needed to dismantle the global criminal enterprise of these dangerous drugs.
Thank you for your courage and commitment to your countries and citizens. I believe this conference will sharpen your skills and provide new tools in your fight against organized crime and drug traffickers.
Thank you very much.
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