Local

U.S. Senators discuss foreign contributions to America’s fentanyl crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawmakers in Washington held a hearing Wednesday focusing on the role foreign countries play in America’s fentanyl crisis.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

Current data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 932,000 people have died from drug overdoses since 1999.

READ: FAA head defends safety of US air travel after close calls

However, the agency says the country has recently seen a decrease in deadly overdoses over the past six months.

U.S. lawmakers are now pointing to other countries as part of the problem and say it’s time to do more to stop it.

READ: Real estate experts offer their 2023 outlook

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, most of the chemical ingredients used to make fentanyl are shipped from China, then produced and converted into the deadly drug in Mexico before coming into the United States at the southern border.

“The most important thing that I can tell this committee here today: we know who is responsible,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. “The Sinaloa cartel and Jalisco- both cartels in Mexico- are responsible for a vast majority of the fentanyl that’s coming into the United States.”

READ: What is Marburg? What you need to know about the deadly virus

Agents with Homeland Security Investigations say they’re now going after the source, which sometimes means going directly to those cartels in Mexico.

“It might not lead us up to the main kingpin, I would say,” Homeland Security Investigations Agent Andrew Montijo said. “But we have ways to cooperate information or find out who’s responsible for their illicit activities.”

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.