The President of the United States, Donald Trump, accused that the drug cartels have a"tremendous control" over Mexico and politicians, as well as elected officials.

During the signing of the Fentanyl Anti-Trafficking Act, Trump added that even Mexican authorities are"petrified" to "go to work" in their offices.

The US president referred to the Sinaloa Cartel , which he described as one of the “toughest” in existence.

He noted that while he tries to “be nice,” the reality is that “the cartels have a very strong control over Mexico. We have to do something about it. We can’t let that happen.”

He then added that “Mexican authorities are petrified of showing up at their offices, of going to work because the cartels have tremendous control over Mexico and its politicians and elected officials.”

.@POTUS:"With the signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act in just a few moments, we are delivering another defeat for the savage drug smugglers, and criminals, and the cartels."

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 16, 2025

Anti-Fentanyl Law, a Defeat for Cartels: Trump

In that sense, he pointed out that the HALT Fentanyl Act represents"another defeat for the savage drug smugglers, criminals, and cartels."

He explained that after the closure of the southern border of the United States to prevent the passage of undocumented immigrants and drugs, drug traffickers began trying to transport them by water."They developed small submarines to bring in the drugs," the president said."But we stopped them."

He demanded the “maximum sentence for fentanyl traffickers” and lamented that “for years, the monsters who manufacture illicit fentanyl have tried to evade restrictions by making minor variations to the chemical composition and in the process have developed more toxic variations of the drug, such as carfentanil, which is becoming more common and is 100 times more potent than the original version.”

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The legislation, Trump explained, includes all fentanyl-related substances, specifically imitation versions of the drug, on the Drug Enforcement Administration's list of" most dangerous drugs, classifying them as Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act."

The new law provides for a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for trafficking more than 100 grams of fentanyl or an analogous substance.

Fentanyl caused nearly 50,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2024, according to government sources. AP reported.

Sheinbaum insists on reaching an agreement with the US on 30% tariffs; they must do their part against fentanyl, she says.