Bargaining with the Beast: U.S.-China Efforts to Curb the Fentanyl Epidemic
Over 1 million Americans have died from drug overdoses since 2000, with some 70-80% of these deaths involving a fatal dose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. In 2023, the U.S. government seized 77 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. These record seizures represent enough to kill every American. At the heart of this crisis are precursor chemicals, almost exclusively manufactured and exported from China to the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco cartel organizations. China likely views this complex intersection of public health and international relations as a bargaining chip to gain concessions from the U.S.
OMEN™ Illuminates Chinese Chemical Companies Helping Fund the Syrian Assad Regime
The fallout from the Syrian civil war had catastrophic effects on the Arab Republic’s legitimate economy, resulting in the Assad regime’s reliance on illegal production of an amphetamine type stimulant (ATS) called Captagon.