Some GOP candidates propose acts of war against Mexico to stop fentanyl. Experts say that won’t work

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Many of the GOP candidates running for president say they would carry out acts of war against Mexico in response to the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. More than 75,000 people in the United States died last year from overdoses of synthetic opioids, an annual figure more than 20 times higher than a decade ago. That rhetoric from the GOP candidates is welcomed by some families who’ve lost loved ones to fentanyl and have long argued that Washington hasn’t done enough to address the worst drug crisis in U.S. history. But analysts and nonpartisan experts warn that talk of war won’t end the crisis and instead fuels the racism and xenophobia that undermine efforts to stop drug trafficking.