SOUTH CAROLINA AG WILSON: Fentanyl is a national security threat — follow the Chinese money

Every day, families across this country are losing loved ones to fentanyl. This is not just a public safety crisis. It is not just a public health emergency. It is something far more dangerous. It is a national security threat.

As attorneys general, we see the devastation up close. In my home state of South Carolina, fentanyl was responsible for more than 70% of overdose deaths in 2023. 

I’ve prosecuted cases where a single operation brought enough fentanyl into our state to kill half a million people. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a coordinated, global pipeline designed to profit from American lives. And if we are serious about stopping it, we must be honest about what is fueling it.

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The fentanyl epidemic is propped up by a massive money laundering network, moving an estimated $100 million every single week. That money is the oxygen that keeps this crisis alive. It allows cartels to expand operations, flood our communities with poison and evade law enforcement.

A key part of that network runs through China-based technology platforms.

We cannot allow foreign adversaries to use technology and financial networks as weapons against our people. We must demand accountability.

Apps like WeChat and its Chinese counterpart, Weixin, have been used to facilitate the transfer and laundering of drug money tied directly to fentanyl trafficking. These encrypted platforms create a black box that shields criminal activity from American law enforcement.

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Over the past year, a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and me, has worked to confront this problem head-on. We pushed WeChat to cooperate with law enforcement, and we secured real progress, including faster response times and stronger monitoring tools.

However, WeChat’s China-based sister app, Weixin, still operates under Chinese data privacy laws and does not adequately respond to U.S. law enforcement requests. 

Since many of the money brokers facilitating these transactions are based in China, closing that gap is an immediate national security priority. Without this information, law enforcement can’t dismantle the international drug organizations that are peddling poison into the United States. That’s why this week, a coalition of attorneys general sent a letter to President Trump, asking him and the federal government to work with their Chinese counterparts to stop the flow of fentanyl trafficking.

President Donald Trump has long understood the scope of this crisis. During his first term, he took decisive action to confront China’s role in the fentanyl pipeline and made clear that protecting American lives must come first. He recognized that this is not just about drugs. It is about foreign actors exploiting our systems to weaken our country.

We need that same strength and clarity now.

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In modern times, our enemies rarely engage us through conventional warfare, where they meet us on the battlefield wearing uniforms. Instead, they engage in what we call gray-zone warfare. They use proxy networks, technology, financial systems and cyber warfare to attack or weaken the United States. The fentanyl crisis is a textbook example.

Chinese labs produce precursor chemicals. Mexican cartels manufacture and distribute the drugs. And digital platforms help move the money. Together, they form a system that is killing Americans every single day.

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This is not accidental. It is strategic.

We cannot allow foreign adversaries to use technology and financial networks as weapons against our people. We must demand accountability. We must strengthen enforcement. And we must bring every tool of our national power to bear, from law enforcement to diplomacy.

This fight is personal for me, as it is for so many Americans. I have seen the toll this crisis takes on families, communities and the future of our country.

If we do not act decisively, more lives will be lost. More families will be shattered.

But if we confront this threat with the seriousness it demands, if we go after the money, the networks and the foreign actors enabling it, we can turn the tide.

The American people and South Carolina families deserve nothing less.