Patel: China to Crack Down on Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals
Meanwhile, U.S. military destroyed 2 more alleged drug boats in Pacific and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group is now in the Southern Caribbean.
The illegal drug trade of fentanyl and other addictive substances has been taking big hits from the U.S. military.
This week, international truck traffickers took a hit from another U.S. agency: The FBI.
Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel visited China to discuss how the Chinese government can help stop the flow of chemical materials used for opioid production (i.e., precursors) as well as other law enforcement issues. The trip was not previously officially announced by either the United States or China.
On Wednesday, Patel announced that China agreed to put controls on these substances.
After Patel met with his Chinese counterparts, the Chinese government agreed to designate all 13 precursors and to control seven chemical subsidiaries used to make the lethal drug that has been blamed for thousands of American deaths each year, the FBI director announced at a White House press briefing on Wednesday.
“Essentially, President Trump has shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl that kills tens of thousands of Americans,” Patel told reporters. “These substances are now banned, and they will no longer be utilized by the Mexican drug trafficking organizations.”
“That was the sole purpose of my trip to China to eliminate these precursors,” he added. “And if successful, we would suffocate the drug trafficking organizations ability to manufacture fentanyl in places like Mexico.”
Patel also credited President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“This was only possible due to President Trump’s historic engagement with President XI just a few short weeks ago that set the stage for today’s announcement,” Patel said.
🚨 BREAKING: In an enormous victory, FBI Director Kash Patel announces the pipeline to create fentanyl has been SHUT DOWN IN MEXICO and worldwide, saving tens of thousands of Americans
“Effective immediately, President Trump has shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl that… pic.twitter.com/G4tj07C3n0
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 12, 2025
During the announcement, Patel also noted that the amount of fentanyl being seized has plummeted under Trump.
Patel said the FBI seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl since Trump took office in January. He said that is a 31% increase from the same time period last year.
…To stop the epidemic, Patel said eliminating fentanyl precursors was essential.
“We must attack fentanyl precursors — or the ingredients necessary to make this lethal drug. That was the sole purpose of my trip to China,” Patel said.
The FBI director said the deal will help “suffocate” the DTO’s ability to manufacture fentanyl.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is still taking out drug runners. Earlier this week, six more drug traffickers experienced the “FO” phase of the FAFO cycle.
The U.S. military has killed six more people in strikes on what it claims were drug-running boats, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday, bringing the total death toll in the series of attacks to 76.
Hegseth said in a post on X that the U.S. carried out two strikes on Sunday in international waters in the eastern Pacific, targeting two boats that were “carrying narcotics” with three “male narco-terrorists” on board each.
Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic strikes were conducted on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.
These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and… pic.twitter.com/ocUoGzwwDO
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 10, 2025
Legal Insurrection readers may recall I reported the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group had been sent to the Caribbean to support continued efforts at ending the flow of illegal drugs into our country. The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford and its strike group have finally reached their destination.
The Ford’s deployment was announced on October 24, and its strike group set sail from Croatia on November 4, crossing the Mediterranean and Atlantic and entering the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility on Tuesday.
The group includes nine embarked squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Eight, plus the guided-missile destroyers USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, and the missile defense command ship USS Winston S Churchill, according to the Air Force Times.
They will join the eight other Navy vessels already stationed in the region, including the USS Iwo Jima, USS Fort Lauderdale, USS San Antonio, USS Lake Erie, USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely, USS Stockdale, and USS Wichita.
The Ford hosts 60 aircraft and an estimated 4,000 sailors, while an additional 6,000 personnel are spread across the eight vessels already present.
As a safety professional, I can affirm that trafficking drugs into the US has certainly gotten substantially more hazardous.
🇺🇸 THE USS GERALD R. FORD: AMERICA’S $8.4M-A-DAY FLOATING WAR MACHINE
The most advanced aircraft carrier on Earth just pulled into the Caribbean, and yes, it comes with F-35s, nukes, drones, and a $8.4 million daily price tag.
It's 337 meters of pure intimidation, powered by… https://t.co/JMFY5MUo0C pic.twitter.com/Ffco1Uk5O9
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 12, 2025
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Comments
why would we even think for a second that the peoples government whose stated mission is to destroy america ( hmmm sounds like blmplo)
would hesitate to actually help us!?
This is just for show by the CCP. Why Patel would waste his time when the CCP undoubtedly has no intention of abiding by this agreement is beyond me?
Yeah, I’m more than a bit skeptical on ChiCom follow through. On the other hand the tariff leverage applied is probably getting their attention so maybe the ChiCom govt will make more than a pro forma or temporary effort.
Hope springs eternal.
Could be something as simple as… this agreement lets Trump bomb Chinese boats full of precursors without the CCP being able to object, because they’re violating Chinese law as well as ours, at that point.
Believe it when you see it
“Alleged” drug boats?