China may soon give death penalty for fentanyl traffickers, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said that China might soon begin giving the death penalty to people who make and send fentanyl into the United States. Trump claimed that the US and China are working on a deal to take strict action against fentanyl traffickers.

"I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China, but I imposed a 20% tariff on China because of the fentanyl. And I call it a penalty. It's a penalty because China delivers much of the fentanyl. Some people would say all of it. They deliver it into Mexico and even into our own country," Trump said.

Trump said that the tariff is meant to make up for the damage caused by the drug. He added, "We have a 20 per cent (tariff), so they pay billions of dollars and billions of dollars in damages for what they've done. And I think we're going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country, whether it's through other countries or directly."

He also said he believed this kind of agreement should have been made years ago. "I believe that we would have had that deal a long time ago. I shook hands with them, and then we had a rigged election, and we had somebody else come in, and they didn't know anything about a deal for the death penalty," Trump said.

He added, "The death penalty is going to be imposed on people from China who make fentanyl and send it into our country. I believe that's going to happen soon. But as of today, all fentanyl related substances will be banned forever, and those who traffic in these deadly poisons will be put behind bars for a very long period of time."

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN FOR 'WORST DRUG CRISIS IN HISTORY'

Trump lashed out at former President Joe Biden and blamed him for the current fentanyl crisis in the US. According to Trump, Biden’s open-border policy made the problem worse.

"Today, we strike a righteous blow to the drug dealers, narcotic traffickers, and criminal cartels... and we take a historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge," Trump said.

He added, "So, six months ago, we came into office and inherited the worst drug crisis in American history by far. They did nothing. For four long years, Joe Biden surrendered our borders to the most evil and vicious traffickers, networks, and everything else on the planet Earth, allowing foreign drug cartels to carve out a massive footprint."

Trump said that the flow of illegal drugs and criminals through open borders has caused huge problems for law enforcement. "This open borders nightmare flooded our country with fentanyl and with people that shouldn't be here, some of the worst people on Earth," he said.

He added, "Illicit drugs decimated American communities and left us with the largest law enforcement challenge in our country's history, and hopefully will always be the largest. I can't imagine anything being worse."

- Ends

With inputs from Agencies

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