Donald Trump has his new champion to combat drugs, a key point of his already won electoral campaign. The President-elect of the United States announced on Saturday that he will nominate the sheriff of Hillsborough County (Tampa, Florida), Chad Chronister, as the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), reports Efe.
Chronister has been the sheriff of this Tampa area county for 32 years and has been involved in drug and human trafficking initiatives, as highlighted by Trump in a statement.
The appointment of the most important drug and narcotics enforcement agency in the United States must be confirmed by the Senate.
"As DEA administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the border, stop the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs from the southern border (with Mexico), and SAVE LIVES," Trump stated.
Trump has made combating fentanyl a central point of his proposals to the extent that he has linked the survival of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to a reduction in the illegal flow of this drug, which he also blames China for as a source of some precursors.
The President-elect also links the health crisis due to the consumption of these opioids to organized crime groups in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, as well as to irregular immigration.
The opioid epidemic originated in the early millennium due to the uncontrolled prescription of these drugs to treat pain, leading to record levels of addiction and reaching over 100,000 annual deaths in 2021 and 2022, a figure that decreased to 81,000 deaths in 2023.
The emergence of fentanyl, which is synthetic and has the same effect in tiny amounts, makes its illegal trafficking much harder to detect and overdoses more common.
Trump also announced on Saturday that he will seek to replace the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with Kash Patel, who has suggested that the organization's headquarters should be closed and that the country's classified information system is a tool of the "deep state."
Patel would replace Chris Wray, chosen by Trump in 2017 for a traditionally 10-year term, succeeding James Comey.
The controversial appointment must be confirmed by the Senate and could increase criticism from law enforcement representatives and the FBI, as Patel has advocated for purging elements of the "deep state."
"Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and 'America First' fighter who has dedicated his career to exposing corruption, upholding justice, and protecting the American people," Trump stated in his announcement on the Truth social network.
Trump also highlighted that Patel has been very critical of what he calls the "Russian hoax," referring to Kremlin interference in the 2016 elections, and has been a "truth advocate."
Trump recalled that Kash was Chief of Staff at the Pentagon, National Deputy Director of Intelligence, and Director for Counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council.
"This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in the United States, dismantle migrant crime gangs, and stop the evil scourge of cross-border drug trafficking," Trump's statement pointed out, noting that he will be under the command of his nominee for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, who also needs to go through the Senate confirmation process.
Patel is very popular among Trump's base for endorsing ideas against the power of the state in books like "Gangster Government," where he calls for dismantling the entire FBI, or the children's book "Conspiracy Against the King," which explains to younger audiences the investigations into Trump's campaign for possible contacts with Kremlin envoys in 2016, a topic he has vehemently criticized.
Patel has also suggested the need to close the FBI headquarters "on day one" or prosecute journalists who "lie to citizens and have helped Joe Biden rig the elections."
Trump has expressed opposition to Wray and has suggested that he should resign if he does not want to be fired. Trump got rid of the previous FBI director, upset by his insistence on investigating some members of his campaign for their ties to Russia.