U.S. Senator Ted Budd from North Carolina addressed the Senate, calling for Canada to play a significant role in stopping criminal cartels from using the U.S.-Canada border to transport illicit fentanyl into the United States.
Senator Budd highlighted the severity of the issue, referencing data that illustrated the crisis. “Last year alone, as my colleagues have shared with you, more than 70,000 Americans died from a fentanyl overdose,” Budd stated. He criticized President Biden for not addressing the crisis effectively.
Budd contrasted the current administration’s approach with that of former President Trump, noting, “under President Trump’s leadership, illegal crossings at the southern border have now dropped 94 percent.”
However, Budd noted a shift in cartel tactics, saying, “drug cartels have found a new route and a new loophole… through the northern border with Canada.” He pointed out that the northern border saw a significant amount of fentanyl seized by Customs and Border Patrol last year, enough to “kill 9.5 million Americans.”
Senator Budd emphasized the vulnerability of the lengthy U.S.-Canada border, stating, “the U.S.-Canada border is the world’s longest international border—at more than 5,500 miles long. But it remains extraordinarily vulnerable.”
He expressed concerns about the lack of resources allocated to the northern border, contrasting it with investments in the southern border. “Our law enforcement officers are doing everything they can, but without enough resources, they are being set up to fail. And that’s not fair to them,” he remarked.
Budd called upon Canada to act as an ally to help mitigate the crisis, saying, “As our ally, we need Canada to step up before more lives are lost.”
His speech also included a quote from a 60 Minutes interview, where a member of the Sinaloa cartel mentioned the advantage of Canada’s border in facilitating drug trafficking due to its size compared to Mexico’s border.
