White House Blasts Washington Post Over Coverage of Fentanyl Decline at Southern Border
The White House is firing back at The Washington Post after the newspaper described a major decline in fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border as a “mystery.” Top Trump administration officials are mocking the outlet’s reporting, arguing that the drop is directly tied to President Trump’s hardline border policies.
The Post reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizures of fentanyl at the southern border have fallen by nearly 30% compared to the same period in 2024, a significant shift after years of increasing confiscation rates. The article suggested uncertainty over the reasons behind the drop, speculating on factors such as cartel infighting, changes in smuggling tactics, supply chain issues, and potential decreases in demand.
However, White House officials strongly rejected the notion that the drop is mysterious — or anything other than a result of Trump’s intensified border enforcement.
“They can’t stand that President Trump’s strong border policies have led to a DECREASE in fentanyl coming into the U.S.,” said White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the Post as “pathetic,” while spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News:
“The drop in fentanyl seizures at the border is only a mystery to Washington Post reporters suffering from Trump-Derangement Syndrome.”
Jackson further asserted:
“As of March, fentanyl traffic at the Southern Border had fallen by more than half from the same time last year — while Joe Biden’s open border was still terrorizing America. Everyone else knows the simple truth: President Trump closed our border to illegal drug traffickers and Americans are safer because of it.”
Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, has been a leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 48,422 people in the U.S. died from fentanyl-related overdoses in 2024 alone.
Since returning to office, President Trump has taken aggressive measures to combat fentanyl trafficking, including deploying troops to the southern border, targeting cartel leaders with economic sanctions, and labeling major trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist groups.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a conservative think tank, also reported that fentanyl seizures have dropped by roughly 50% since the 2024 election. The organization interprets the data as signaling a larger reduction in total smuggling activity.
Despite the White House’s sharp rebuke, The Washington Post maintained that the reasons behind the decrease remain unclear, noting that U.S. officials have yet to provide a comprehensive explanation and that some health experts fear recent budget cuts could undercut addiction treatment and overdose prevention efforts.
As political tensions escalate over the fentanyl crisis, the narrative around the decline in seizures continues to divide media outlets, policymakers, and public health officials.
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