Every day, families in this country lose loved ones to fentanyl. This is not just a public safety crisis. It’s not just a public health emergency. It’s something much more dangerous. It is a threat to national security.
As attorneys general, we see the devastation up close. In my home state of South Carolina, fentanyl was responsible for more than 70% of overdose deaths in 2023.
I have prosecuted cases where a single operation brought enough fentanyl into our state to kill half a million people. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a coordinated, global pipeline designed to take advantage of American lives. And if we’re serious about stopping it, we need to be honest about its causes.
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The fentanyl epidemic is fueled by a vast money laundering network, transferring an estimated $100 million every week. That money is the oxygen that keeps this crisis alive. It allows cartels to expand their operations, flood our communities with poison, and evade law enforcement.
An important part of that network runs through technology platforms based in China.
We cannot allow foreign adversaries to use technology and financial networks as weapons against our people. We must demand accountability.
Apps such as WeChat and its Chinese counterpart, Weixin, have been used to facilitate the transfer and laundering of drug money directly linked to the fentanyl trade. These encrypted platforms create a black box that protects criminal activity from U.S. law enforcement.
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Over the past year, a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and I, have been working to tackle this problem head-on. We pushed WeChat to work with law enforcement agencies, and we made real progress, including faster response times and stronger monitoring tools.
However, WeChat’s Chinese sister app, Weixin, still operates under Chinese data privacy laws and does not adequately respond to requests from US law enforcement agencies.
Because many of the money brokers facilitating these transactions are based in China, closing that gap is an immediate national security priority. Without this information, law enforcement cannot dismantle the international drug organizations that smuggle poison into the United States. That is why a coalition of attorneys general will be formed this week sent a letter to President Trump, asking him and the federal government to work with their Chinese counterparts to stem the flow of fentanyl trafficking.
President Donald Trump has long understood the magnitude of this crisis. During his first term, he took decisive action to confront China’s role in the fentanyl pipeline and made clear that protecting American lives must come first. He acknowledged that it’s not just about drugs. It’s about foreign actors exploiting our systems to weaken our country.
We need that same strength and clarity now.
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In modern times, our enemies rarely engage us through conventional warfare, encountering us in uniform on the battlefield. Instead, they engage in what we call gray zone warfare. They use proxy networks, technology, financial systems and cyber warfare to attack or weaken the United States. The fentanyl crisis is a textbook example.
Chinese laboratories produce precursor chemicals. Mexican cartels produce and distribute the drugs. And digital platforms help move the money. Together they form a system that kills Americans every day.
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This is not a coincidence. It’s strategic.
We cannot allow foreign adversaries to use technology and financial networks as weapons against our people. We must demand accountability. We need to strengthen enforcement. And we must use every tool of our national power, from law enforcement to diplomacy.
This struggle is personal for me, as it is for so many Americans. I have seen the toll this crisis is taking on families, communities and the future of our country.
If we do not act decisively, more lives will be lost. More families will be broken up.
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But if we confront this threat with the seriousness it demands, if we go after the money, the networks and the foreign actors that make this threat possible, we can turn the tide.
The American people and families in South Carolina deserve nothing less.
