Media outlets Wednesday reported that United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials are warning Americans that "rainbow fentanyl" is spreading to states like Oregon, Idaho, and the West Coast. The latest development comes as the Biden administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas continue to argue that the border is secured even while Border Patrol Agents are dealing with migrant influxes and drug trafficking every day.
In a recent interview, the Director of the DEA'S Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Chris Gibson, expressed concern that fentanyl will get into the hands of children who will mistake it for sidewalk chalk or candy, ingesting it and potentially overdosing on the potent drug. Gibson noted that the U.S. is faced with a devastating fentanyl problem, resulting in numerous deaths of young people.
According to reports, photos from the Multnomah County sheriff's office reveal the contents that deputies seized from a Northeast Portland apartment, showed colorful candy-shaped fentanyl in small plastic bags. Officials said the contents discovered are more potent than pressed fentanyl pills because of their purer form. Deputies in states like Oregon have also found other items like border armor, thousands of dollars in cash, stolen guns, and drugs, including meth, heroin, hundreds of fentanyl pills, and several grams of different colored powdered fentanyl or "rainbow fentanyl."
The DEA official explained the use of multi-colors for fentanyl drugs is a fresh marketing tactic to obtain young inexperienced users, arguing that it is coming directly from the U.S. southern border through drug trafficking organizations. Gibson and many others believe this will become a new trend seen on the streets in states like Portland and others, spreading throughout the entire country and getting into the hands of American youth. For example, in Monterey, California, authorities arrested individuals described as having "rainbow" fentanyl that looked like Lucky Charms cereal for kids.
From the start of the Biden presidency, the President and his appointed DHS officials have faced massive problems at the U.S. southern border, resulting in large migrant influxes every month and increased drug trafficking. Under DHS Secretary Mayorkas, the President and his team have revoked policies created under the Trump administration, resulting in outrage from members of Congress, particularly from border states like Texas, Arizona, and others.
DHS officials, Border Patrol, and the DEA have emphasized the need for the administration to stop fentanyl drug trafficking directly from its source, calling for control of the influx of drugs from the southern border. For his part, Secretary Mayorkas has claimed that the southern border is secure, facing outrage from Border Patrol Agents who have told the Secretary and his team that their policies have resulted in massive amounts of migrant deaths and drug trafficking.
Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate have called on the President and Mayorkas to explain their decisions on dealing with migrant releases and their plans for cracking down on drug traffickers, stating that the President and his team are taking the border crisis seriously. Border State Governors and legislatures in Texas, Arizona, and others have decided to act by themselves, increasing tools for law enforcement to secure their states and help track down migrants who have illegally crossed the border as well as drug traffickers. With the 2022 November Midterms on the horizon, Republicans running for office continue to highlight the inability to manage the ongoing situation at the Southern Border, vowing to do everything within their power to provide Border Patrol Agents with the resources necessary to control the crisis.
