Yellen is heading to Mexico after Treasury launches fentanyl trafficking strike force
WASHINGTON >> Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading to Mexico this week to promote her agency’s new strike force to help combat illicit fentanyl trafficking as the U.S. and China step up efforts to stop the movement of the powerful opioid and drug-making materials into the United States.
In Mexico City, Yellen will talk with government and private sector leaders about stopping illicit finance that funds the drug trade and boosting supply chains through her “friendshoring” initiative. A major focus of the trip will be on stopping fentanyl financing.
The Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force announced Monday will bring together personnel and intelligence from throughout the Treasury Department — from its sanctions and intelligence arms to IRS Criminal Investigations — to more effectively collaborate on stopping the flow of drugs into the country.
The creation of the group and Yellen’s Mexico trip are the beginning of the Biden administration’s plan to redouble its efforts to stem the tide of illegal fentanyl after President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in California in November. At the meeting, they announced that China is telling its chemical companies to curtail shipments of the materials used to produce fentanyl to Latin America.
China has also resumed sharing information about suspected trafficking with an international database.
Mexico and China are the primary source countries for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the U.S., according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Nearly all the precursor chemicals that are needed to make fentanyl are coming from China.
Among other things, the Treasury task force will analyze the financial flows of trafficking organizations, especially those that rely on cryptocurrency to move funds; work with local law enforcement in areas hardest hit by the fentanyl epidemic and use financial institution records to detect transactions related to drug and human smuggling.
“Combating the flow of deadly fentanyl into communities across the United States is a top priority for President Biden as well as the Treasury Department,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a statement. She said the new group will “allow us to bring the department’s unrivaled expertise in fighting financial crime to bear against this deadly epidemic.”
“Treasury will use every tool at its disposal to disrupt the ability of drug traffickers to peddle this poison in our country.”