Good news, everyone! There's been a sharp decrease in the number of fentanyl seizures along the southern border, but the Washington Post assures us that the reasons behind the "mysterious" decrease are complex.
I thought this HAD to be a fake
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) June 1, 2025
But nope. It’s 100% real pic.twitter.com/qXjZlTBYcA
Just a wild guess, but could it have something to do with having a border again? The Post reports:
U.S. seizures at the Mexican border are down almost 30 percent for the first half of this fiscal year, compared with the same period in 2024. They have shrunk by even more since the first half of 2023 — from 13,804 pounds to 6,749 pounds. (Those numbers are for the first six months of each fiscal year, which starts in October).
“One cannot deny there is a big drop,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies the fentanyl crisis. “How long it’s going to last is the critical thing.”
The decline is occurring even as the Trump administration has deployed thousands of troops to the border and expanded drone flights. With more boots on the ground, you’d think seizures would go up — not down.
Some security officials think cartels could be seeking ways to get around border security forces — by mailing the fentanyl, or digging tunnels. After all, there’s still plenty of fentanyl available on U.S. streets. This month, DEA agents confiscated more than 880 pounds of the opioid in a “historic” operation, most of it in Albuquerque. Yet, even including such operations in the U.S. interior, fentanyl seizures have been declining.
"With more boots on the ground, you'd think seizures would go up." It must be that the cartels are still busy digging tunnels to bring in the fentanyl.
Who would’ve thought that strong border security would solve this problem.
— Pro White Crusader (@ProWhiteTruth) June 2, 2025
Who would’ve thought. Wow.
So, do they just put words in the headline to make sure certain people won’t read it? “Oh it’s complex, that sounds hard. I just need to know if Trump is still bad?” 🤣
— Shawn Stimson (@ShawnStimson) June 2, 2025
For some everything is a mystery
— Rx (@RxShah) June 2, 2025
Amazingly mysterious 🙄🤔😏
— 🌋 (@EvrybodynthrMom) June 2, 2025
— Nancy Phelps (@NancyPh32842797) June 2, 2025
Such a mystery!
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 2, 2025
Just spitballing here, but … maybe it’s because cartels aren’t crossing the border under this administration?
— DriveBy Geek (@DriveByGeek) June 2, 2025
"The decline is occurring even as the Trump administration has deployed thousands of troops to the border and expanded drone flights," the Post reports. Maybe there's such a thing as deterrence.
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member