(Washington) Joe Biden’s government announced Tuesday that it was launching proceedings, accompanied by economic sanctions, against a Chinese network accused of participating in the manufacture of drugs, in particular fentanyl, a very powerful opiate responsible for tens of thousands of overdoses every year in the United States.
The prosecution, which involves eight counts, targets several Chinese companies “and their employees”, accused of participating in the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines, the US Department of Justice said in a press release.
“We know that the global fentanyl supply chain that results in the deaths of Americans most often begins with chemical companies in China,” Justice Secretary Merrick Garland charged during a press conference.
This is the second series of prosecutions launched by the United States against Chinese companies and citizens, accused of having participated in the trafficking of components necessary for the production of fentanyl, now carried out mainly by the cartels Mexican drug traffickers, especially those from Sinaloa and Jalisco.
The attorney general insisted that the “need” for Beijing to block the “uncontrolled flow” of these components.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mr. Garland will also travel on Wednesday to “meet our counterparts and discuss the most urgent threats to our two countries”, he added, specifying that “reducing the power of nuisance of cartels and fentanyl production and trafficking will be at the top of the list.”
In detail, the proceedings concern “eight Chinese companies and 12 citizens, who are trying to export to the United States liters and liters of precursors necessary for the production of fentanyl, methamphetamines and other deadly drugs,” said the secretary. Deputy Justice Lisa Monaco.
Economic sanctions were also announced by the Treasury Department targeting 28 individuals and entities, in China, but also in Canada, according to a press release from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“As of today, these individuals and entities, located in China and Canada, can no longer use the U.S. financial system and all U.S. citizens and residents are prohibited from transacting with them,” he said. said Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Treasury Secretary, at the same press conference.
Public health crisis
The subject of opiates is one of the many elements of political tension between Washington and Beijing. It was notably discussed by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during her visit to China at the end of August.
From March 2022 to March 2023, the United States had 110,000 deaths related to drug overdoses or overdoses, two-thirds of them due to fentanyl use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Among adolescents, overdose deaths jumped 94% from 2019 to 2020, according to the CDC, which attributes this phenomenon in particular to the greater “availability of illegally produced synthetic fentanyl”.
The fight against fentanyl is among the priorities of the White House. This powerful synthetic opioid is up to 50 times more potent than heroin.
Wally Adeyemo specified that the Treasury had “identified and blocked more than a dozen virtual currency wallets associated” with the people being prosecuted. They “received millions of dollars in funds across hundreds of deposits, [illustrant] the scope and scale of the operation.
He said he had asked to “expand” the people targeted by sanctions, “to include friends, family members and affiliates of criminals who benefit from the sale of these drugs. If you benefit from the proceeds of this illicit activity, we will go after your assets.”
The subject of drugs in general is also among the campaign subjects for the presidential election of November 2024.
Several Republican candidates have promised, if elected, to use the army for strikes against drug cartels in Mexico.
The Biden administration announced more than $450 million in additional funding at the end of August to combat the overdose crisis in the United States.