The Biden administration said Monday it is creating a “counter-fentanyl strike force” within the Treasury Department to fight drug trafficking in the United States by more aggressively scrutinizing the finances of suspected drug dealers.
The Treasury Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Agency and the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Internal Revenue Service will lead the new team. It will seek to detect and disrupt money laundering related to fentanyl trafficking and more effectively crack down on sanctions violations.
Officials from the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis will also work with counterparts in Mexico and Canada to stop the flow of fentanyl across the northern and southern borders.
The Treasury Department has emerged as a key player in the Biden administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal drugs entering the United States because it can track financial flows that benefit traffickers. Over the past two years, the Treasury has sanctioned nearly 250 individuals and entities linked to drug-trafficking operations.
“The Treasury Department’s Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force will allow us to bring the department’s unparalleled expertise in combating financial crime to this deadly epidemic,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement. “Treasury will use every tool at its disposal to disrupt the ability of drug traffickers to smuggle this poison into our country.”
Ms. Yellen will begin that work in person this week when she travels to Mexico on Tuesday for three days of talks with senior officials. The Treasury Secretary will also meet with Mexican banking executives to encourage the private sector to stem illicit money linked to fentanyl.
The Treasury Department’s focus on fentanyl comes weeks after President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to work together against the drug trade. China agreed to help at a meeting in San Francisco Prevent shipment of chemicals Used to make fentanyl. US officials claim that China’s chemical industry Americans play a key role in the fentanyl crisis The bulk of the materials used in illegal drug labs, including Mexico, are now the largest exporter of fentanyl to the United States.
In the days following the deal, a Chinese drug agency issued a notice warning that companies that make and sell chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl and other drugs would face prosecution. and the United States Trade restrictions have been rolled back It charged a Chinese government agency with alleged involvement in human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which the Chinese claim See them as obstacles to cooperation.
The Treasury Department is intensifying its focus on Mexican cartels that traffic fentanyl. Last week, the United States coordinated with the Mexican government to impose sanctions on 13 Mexican companies and three individuals linked to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generation.
The new team hopes that better coordination among experts within the US government will make it easier to monitor groups like the CJNG.
“Strike Force will work quickly and decisively with top experts across the department to address the newest threats,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
During her visit this week, Ms. Yellen will also focus on strengthening economic ties with Mexico, which this year became the largest U.S. trading partner in goods. The Biden administration sees Mexico as an important part of its “friend shoring” policy, according to senior Treasury officials, previewing the trip and Ms. Yellen to discuss ways to include Mexico in the clean energy supply chain that the United States is trying to develop. .
Anna Swanson Contribution reporting.
Where we collect the information from Source link
Disclaimer:- We include in each post a link to where each content on our website is collected from.If there is a complaint against any post please contact us directly.
Email: post-support.dailyfastnews24.com
You can also write on the popular online news portal dailyfastnews24.com. Writing topics feature, travel, lifestyle, career, IT, agriculture and nature. Send your entry today to [email protected]
advertisement:-If you would like to advertise on our website please contact us here.Our Ads team will contact you very soon.
Email: [email protected]
The cost of advertising:- 1 Post 100 USD Lifetime.
Thank you very much for visiting our website. Have a good day.