Trump’s foreign aid freeze stops anti-fentanyl work in Mexico

By Humeyra Pamuk, Stephen Eisenhammer and Laura Gottesdiener

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has vowed to destroy Mexican cartels and end the U.S. fentanyl epidemic, but his sweeping freeze on foreign aid has temporarily stopped U.S.-funded anti-narcotics programs in Mexico that for years have been working to curb the flow of the synthetic opioid into the United States.

All of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) programs in Mexico are currently halted due to the funding freeze, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters. These programs focus heavily on dismantling the fentanyl supply chain, according to State Department budget documents reviewed by Reuters. Their activities include training Mexican authorities to find and destroy clandestine fentanyl labs and to stop precursor chemicals needed to manufacture the illicit drug from entering Mexico.

In Mexico, INL also donates drug-detecting canines that helped Mexican authorities seize millions of fentanyl pills in 2023 alone, according to a March 2024 INL report.

“By pausing this assistance, the United States undercuts its own ability to manage a crisis affecting millions of Americans," said Dafna H. Rand, former director of the Office of Foreign Assistance at the State Department from 2021 to 2023. “U.S. foreign assistance programs in Mexico are countering the fentanyl supply chain by training local security services and ensuring maximum U.S.-Mexican cooperation in the fight against this deadly drug.”

The State Department and Mexico’s presidency and foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the freeze.

More than 450,000 Americans have died of synthetic opioid overdoses over the past decade, with millions more addicted. A Reuters series last year penetrated the fentanyl supply chain and revealed how drug traffickers bring Chinese-made fentanyl ingredients into the U.S. and Mexico and then synthesize them in clandestine Mexican labs.

Through INL projects, the U.S. partners with Mexican authorities operating on the counternarcotics frontline, including the military, prosecutors and police. Beyond narcotics, INL in Mexico also provides support to combat illegal migration and human smuggling.

Hundreds of projects covering billions of dollars in assistance around the world came to a halt, including much of INL’s work globally, after Trump on January 20 ordered a freeze on most U.S. foreign aid, saying he wanted to ensure the spending was aligned with his "America First" policy.

While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued waivers for what he called “life-saving humanitarian assistance” to be exempt from the freeze, aid workers and U.N. staff have said most of the programs remain shut and that confusion persists as to what is or isn’t permissible.

One source familiar with the situation said the administration was considering a waiver to permit funding for some foreign anti-narcotics programs, but it wasn't clear if INL’s Mexico projects were among them. Two of the sources said INL’s Mexico projects have not at present been given exemptions.

During his campaign, Trump vowed to combat fentanyl arguing the previous administration had been weak in clamping down on the trafficking of the synthetic opioid and the precursor chemicals needed to make it. Fentanyl deaths soared during Trump’s own first term in office as well, however.

Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico if the country does not stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and control illegal immigration. He has also ordered the State Department to designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a move that could increase the reach and funding of U.S. authorities to go after organized crime groups in Mexico. The Trump administration has not yet specified which cartels it will designate as terrorist groups.

Since Trump took office, both the U.S. and Mexico have sent additional troops to their shared border in a bid to stop drug smuggling and illegal migration.

The terrorist designation and the freezing of foreign assistance have raised concern among some U.S. officials and security analysts that the Trump administration is shifting from bilateral cooperation with Mexico to a more unilateral approach to combating drugs and the cartels.

During the campaign, Trump called for a “military operation” against Mexico’s cartels and said U.S. strikes on the organized crime groups were “absolutely” on the table. On Thursday, the top U.S. general overseeing troops in North America said the military had increased its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington, Stephen Eisenhammer in Mexico City and Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey, Mexico)