(NewsNation) — The Drug Enforcement Administration is ramping up its “Fentanyl Free America” initiative, as the agency works to get the deadly narcotic off of American streets for good.
Formally announced Wednesday, the DEA started the initiative in October, and it’s already yielded results.
So far this year, the DEA has seized over 45 million fentanyl pills off the streets, along with over nine thousand pounds of fentanyl powder. That amounts to nearly 350 million potentially deadly doses, enough to kill every American.
Additionally, DEA testing indicates that in fiscal year 2025, 29% of analyzed fentanyl pills contained a potentially lethal dose, a significant decrease from the 76% of pills tested in fiscal year 2023.
“Through intensified enforcement operations and heightened intelligence, DEA is applying unprecedented
pressure on the global fentanyl supply chain, forcing narco-terrorists, like the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG
Cartel, to change their business practices,” the DEA stated in its release.
Cartels adapting to ‘enforcement efforts’
DEA Assistant Administrator Cheri Oz told NewsNation that cartels are adapting to the agency’s “enforcement efforts.”
“As we stamp out supply chain precursors, it makes it more difficult for the cartels to make fentanyl,” Oz said.
In response, cartels are transitioning to other synthetic drugs. Los Angeles has been the site of some major drug busts recently, including the seizure of nearly 630,000 Carfentanil pills in October. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that is a hundred times more powerful than fentanyl.
DEA’s efforts part of broader ‘government strategy’
“DEA’s efforts are part of a larger whole-of-government strategy to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and protect U.S. communities from fentanyl,” according to the release.
Since September, the Trump administration has ordered U.S. troops to carry out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 83 people.
Over the summer, Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act to reduce the amount of fentanyl entering the United States. The law also toughens penalties for those convicted of trafficking drugs into the U.S.
NewsNation’s Jeff Arnold and Ali Bradley contributed to this report.