WASHINGTON, D.C.—During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing today, Rep. Greg Stanton urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to continue to use diplomatic pressure to regain the cooperation of Mexican and Chinese officials in the fight against fentanyl.
“Drug trafficking and the violence wrought by drug cartels is an important issue to me—not only as a member of this Committee but as a representative of Arizona—and I believe there’s an important need for diplomatic efforts for us to see a meaningful impact,” Stanton said.
“This is the very top of our agenda,” Blinken replied. “We need their cooperation, one way or another, on this.”
Many precursor chemicals, both illicit and not, that are used to make fentanyl are manufactured in China. Cooperation on the issue with China began to deteriorate in 2019 under the previous Administration—and it has continued on that path since.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador dropped all drug-enforcement cooperation with the United States during the last Administration, and recently falsely claimed that cartels were not producing fentanyl in drug labs in the country.
Stanton also pushed Blinken to get personally involved in the fight to secure permanent legal status for Afghans allies brought to the U.S., including members of the Female Tactical Platoon, and thanked him, State Department staff and the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs for their partnership and dedication in bringing Brittney Griner home from Russian detention.
Video of Stanton’s questioning and Blinken’s answer is available HERE.