Top Republican Senator: Communist China Is ‘Intentionally Poisoning’ U.S. With Fentanyl

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said during an interview Friday that communist China is conducting warfare against the United States by intentionally flooding the U.S. with fentanyl.

Ernst, who serves as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, made the remarks during an interview with CBS News.

“The Chinese are selling these precursor chemicals into Mexico. Then the Mexican cartels are working on making the fentanyl and distributing up into the United States,” Ernst said. “I think that the Chinese are intentionally poisoning America. And of course, the Chinese don’t want to assist us with this.”

“When we see an adversary like China poisoning our communities, it’s very disconcerting,” she added. “So we have to educate the American people. We have to work with our Mexican counterparts to push back against the cartel and the Chinese. We can’t continue to lose our youth to this fentanyl epidemic. It is extremely important that we push back.”

The report noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration’s top official recently told the network that there is a relationship between the Chinese chemical companies and the Mexican drug cartels.

The opioid epidemic in the U.S. started in the late 1990s with the overprescribing of prescription narcotics, CNN reported, and has transitioned into opioid users overdosing at high rates due to the introduction of fentanyl to the illicit drug market.

Fentanyl is responsible for the most drug deaths in the U.S. right now, and it’s commonly found mixed with cocaine, heroin, and fake prescription drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and even Adderall, the report added.

Heroin became more easily available in the U.S. around 2010, the report said, with the introduction of fentanyl to the U.S. black market shortly thereafter which led to an immediate spike in drug deaths.

In 2021, the CDC said more than 106,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S., a 15% increase from the previous year.

“Mexican [drug cartels] will almost certainly have the greatest direct impact on the fentanyl market in the United States for the near future because of these organizations’ increased capacity and capabilities for fentanyl production, adaptations to restrictions on precursor chemicals, and existing drug trafficking infrastructure in the United States,” the DEA’s most recent National Drug Threat Assessment said.

The Mexican drug cartels “use a combination of methods to obtain chemicals used for fentanyl production in Mexico, primarily from sources originating in China, including purchases made on the open market, smuggling chemicals hidden in legitimate commercial shipments, mislabeling shipments to avoid controls and the attention of law enforcement, and diversion from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.”

“Law enforcement seizures in 2019 and 2020 include many chemicals which are uncontrolled in China and Mexico,” the report said. “The emergence of this chemical demonstrates the continued efforts by traffickers in Mexico and China to bypass international precursor chemical controls to continue producing illicit fentanyl.”

Senator Dan Sullivan Reveals Details Of U.S. Military Operation To Shoot Down Object Over Alaska

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called the effort to shoot down an unidentified object over Alaskan air late this week a “varsity-level” military operation.

Sullivan’s remarks come after the Pentagon said on Friday that it shot down an object roughly the size of a small car several miles off the coast of Alaska.

“This is varsity-level military operation,” Sullivan said during an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. “A lot of people don’t understand the challenge and professionalism and just incredible military effort that occurs when you do an op like this.”

“Alaska is a huge state with giant airspace. This included F-22s, F-35s, F-16s, Alaska National Guard tankers,” he continued. “We have rescue operation units that are on the ground right now doing a search for this operation, so really, really incredible work that the Alaska military has done and is continuing to do.”

Sullivan said that the area where the object was shot down was “one of the most important energy areas in America.”

WATCH:

Sullivan’s comments come as an experienced F-15 fighter pilot told the media on Friday that some of the details released by U.S. officials on the incident are “unusual.” The unidentified object reportedly had a “cylindrical shape” and was much smaller in size than the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last week.

“We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose, or origin,” said Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. “The object was about the size of a small car, so not similar in size or shape to the high-altitude surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of South Carolina.”

A U.S. official told Politico that the object did not appear to have any “observable surveillance equipment.” The object was reportedly flying around 40,000 feet, making it a threat to civilian aircraft.

Randy Reep, an experienced F-15 pilot, said the size of the object was suspicious.

“In modern times, the opportunity to see drones in the air is not uncommon,” said Reep. “What you’re seeing that’s unusual is the size of these unmanned vehicles that are transient in our airspace.”

Reep said that U.S. officials would not shoot down the object “until they knew it was an unmanned vehicle.”

“They will have to wait to have all the data so they can provide a good briefing on the exact situation that it was,” Reep said.

Related: U.S. Military Shoots Down Unidentified Object Over Alaska

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