Fentanyl is an American Foreign Policy Issue
In 2022, fentanyl killed 70,000 people in America. The drug’s overdose death toll per week, the Drug Enforcement Agency reports, is the equivalent of an entire Seton Hall graduating class.
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Drug Trafficking
FOCUS on Narco-States: Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, a small African country that ranks as one of the poorest in the world, has been infiltrated at every level ‒political, economic, social‒ by the illegal drug trade. The country serves as a midpoint in cocaine trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe. Over a decade ago, it was labeled Africa’s “first narco-state.” Last year, Ruth Monteiro, Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights, stated that the country is still a “paradise for drug traffickers,” reports BBC.
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FOCUS on Narco-States: Afghanistan
Afghanistan, a nation embroiled in war for nearly 20 years, is home to one of the worst narcotic epidemics in the world. Opium cultivation, which is turned into heroin, has become an important livelihood for thousands of people.
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Mexico Grapples with Resurgent Sinaloa Cartel
Two incidents – one a siege and the other a massacre – propelled Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel to the limelight this month. The cartel, one of the largest and most influential in Mexico, deals in everything from the deadly opiate fentanyl to marijuana and is one of the main actors in the U.S.-Mexico drug trade.
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Focus on the Narcotics Trade: Brazil
The clashes between rival gangs are not exclusive to these impoverished areas. Earlier this year, 56 people were killed in a prison in Manaus as a result of a violent jail riot in Brazil.
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