Fentanyl and drug cartels top US national security threats, linked to over 54,000 deaths.

The Trump administration has ranked fentanyl and international drug cartels as top threats to US national security, citing over 54,000 US deaths from synthetic opioids in the past year. Despite this, a recent US threat assessment did not mention Canada, focusing instead on threats from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The fentanyl crisis, which has led to widespread drug-related deaths, is also linked to political interests in the pharmaceutical industry and US political polarization.