SACRAMENTO, California. – New California National Guard troops will reinforce security at the border with Mexico and step up the fight against the fentanyl trade.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered additional members of the state’s National Guard to be deployed to the state’s four ports of entry on the border with Mexico.
Newsom stated that military elements will be increased immediately from 40 to 60 to prevent fentanyl and other drugs from entering the Golden State.
“Fentanyl is a deadly poison that tears families and communities apart. “California is taking strict action,” the governor said.
“Today, we’re taking it a step further by deploying more CalGuard soldiers to fight this crisis and keep our communities safe,” he added.
The increase in National Guard troops will nearly double the US military presence on the border with Mexico, both at ports of entry and along the border line.
Fentanyl enters California via the border with Mexico
Just last year, 50% of the fentanyl seizures made by various law enforcement agencies in fiscal 2022 were made at the California-Mexico border.
Although criminal groups and cartels have sophisticated strategies for importing drugs from Mexican soil, the most common steps are:
- mountains and deserts
- Land Ports of Entry
- seaports
- airports
- Installations like drug tunnels
Routes of fentanyl from Mexico, particularly from the city of Tijuana, are concentrated in San Diego and Imperial counties.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, most of the drugs seized in the border region are smuggled by US citizens, not immigrants crossing the border to seek asylum.
Enough fentanyl to kill us all
According to the Newsom administration, 28,765 pounds of fentanyl were seized last year with the support of the California National Guard.
“California has confiscated enough fentanyl to potentially kill twice the entire population of North America,” the California governor’s office said in a statement.
The presence of other elements of the California National Guard at the border with Mexico is also intended to assist the Department of Customs and Border Protection in its work to fight drugs at the country’s ports of entry.
