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fentanyl

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on April 23, 2025.
GZERO North

White House claims win on border security but stays mum on tariffs

When Donald Trump first threatened to slap tariffs on Canada in December, he cited fentanyl and border security as two ostensible reasons for the duties, which followed soon after. Observers have pointed out that very little fentanyl has been found to cross the US-Canada border, but it didn’t seem to change any minds in the White House.

​An aerial view shows a truck crossing into the United States over the Cordova of the Americas border bridge, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on April 2, 2025.
GZERO North

Hard Numbers: Border apprehensions plunge, Maplewashing crops up, Fentanyl trickles in, Trump puts “Truth” on the block

​Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Dec. 3, 2024.
What We're Watching

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre goes after fentanyl

After Justin Trudeau agreed to appoint a fentanyl czar and take other steps to avoid a trade war with the United States, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced that he would get tough on traffickers.

Oysters from Prince Edward Island are displayed in a Toronto market.
US & Canada

HARD NUMBERS: Killer oyster parasite spreads, Canada offers tariff relief, Small batch opioid precursors pose big problem, Moscow says “no” to new US-Russia nuclear treaty

Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller.
GZERO North

Hard numbers: Ottawa pledges fresh immigration crackdown, Gold and ‘Black Gold’ deliver a surplus, US makes big power grid pledge, China cracks down on opioid precursors

A bottle of fentanyl is displayed in Anyang city, central China's Henan province, 12 November 2018.
What We're Watching

China agrees to restrict fentanyl production

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were blamed for the overdose deaths of nearly 75,000 Americans in 2023.

​CBP agents stand by a plane that's believed to have carried Mexican drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who were arrested in El Paso, Texas.
What We're Watching

Sinaloa cartel leaders arrested

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the leader and co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa cartel was arrested on Thursday in El Paso, Texas, along with Joaquin Guzmán Lopez, the son of imprisoned cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

A bottle of Fentanyl pharmaceuticals is displayed in Anyang city, central China's Henan province, 12 November 2018.
What We're Watching

Friends that fight fentanyl together, stay together

After a four-year hiatus, the US and China have restarted joint talks to fight fentanyl.

A bottle of Fentanyl pharmaceuticals is displayed in Anyang city
News

US cracks down on China’s role in fentanyl crisis

The US Justice Department filed criminal charges against four Chinese chemical companies and eight Chinese nationals on Friday, accusing them of trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa cartel.

Blinken meets Xi in Beijing
Quick Take

Blinken meets Xi in Beijing

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Tony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, had a weekend trip to Beijing that included a last-moment meeting with President Xi Jinping, and then suddenly it is all over state media and social media. In a sense, the Chinese blessing the visit to their public and showing that they want to have a more constructive or at least stable relationship. What's the bad news? There is no trust within this relationship.