As drug cartels continue to illegally transport illicit drugs like fentanyl and synthetic opioids across the United States’ southern border and into the hands of young Americans, a new law has been introduced in the US House of Representatives allowing Americans to obtain justice from "persons, entities, or countries that knowingly or recklessly contribute" to the spread of such drugs.
According to reports, the bill known as the "Justice Against Sponsors of Illicit Fentanyl Act of 2023,” introduced by House Republican lawmaker Lance Gooden from Texas, allows the families of victims of the fentanyl crisis to have "full access to the court system" and obtain civil claims against individuals, organizations, and governments that enable such trafficking.
The bill states that participants in fentanyl trafficking would be "brought to court in the US to answer for that conduct."
"This legislation is a vital step toward holding nations accountable for their role in enabling the trafficking of fentanyl into our country," Gooden told Fox News.
"By providing victims and their families the ability to bring suit against foreign actors, we are sending a clear message that the US will not tolerate any nation that contributes to this devastating drug crisis."
The measures proposed would prevent foreign states from being immune from the authority of the US courts in "any case in which money damages are sought against a foreign state for physical injury to person or property or death occurring in the US."
The bill states that illegal and illicit fentanyl trafficking is a threat to the "safety and health of nationals of the US" and America's "national security, foreign policy, and economy."
In the past months, the fentanyl crisis has taken the lives of around 200 Americans every day, according to the US Department of Justice.
As more reports reveal that the Communist Chinese Government (CCP) is the primary source of manufacturing ingredients for illegal fentanyl, there is no current method for Americans to take legal action against the regime in Beijing.
US officials say that the production of fentanyl and other deadly synthetic opioids begins in China, with the creation of precursor chemicals and then transported to Mexico, where they are produced and distributed by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.
During a February Senate hearing, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Anne Milgram stated that the precursor chemicals coming from "companies within the People's Republic of China (PRC) are the foundation of fentanyl."
"The use of Chinese Money Laundering Organizations (CMLOs) by the cartels simplifies the money laundering process and streamlines the purchase of precursor chemicals utilized in manufacturing drugs," Milgram said.
Analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) say that the drug operation involves the largest banks in China, which are significant financiers.
In a recent April Congressional testimony, Anthony Ruggiero, a senior fellow at the FDD stated that while the Biden administration has focused on combating US demand for drugs and the export of fentanyl precursors from China, it "has not tackled the problem of the Chinese financial sector's role in laundering the proceeds from drug sales that kill over 100,000 Americans each year."
From March last year to this year, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials seized 14,000 pounds of illegal fentanyl, with many disguised as ordinary candies.
Experts say an individual can overdose on fentanyl after taking as little as two milligrams. The increasing traffic of fentanyl across the US southern border has led to massive overdose deaths, which are the leading cause of accidental deaths in the US among those 18 to 45 years old.
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