In 2023, dea seized a record 79.5 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. While the data does not definitively answer why seizures of fentanyl at the northern border have been so infrequent, it is possible that illicit drug trafficking organizations are focusing their smuggling operations along the u.s southern and, increasingly, maritime borders. Drug enforcement administration (dea) has unveiled a sweeping new initiative aimed at weakening cartel networks by striking at their most critical operatives—known as “gatekeepers”—who control smuggling corridors along the southwest border.
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The effort is called project portero
It is aimed at dismantling cartel operatives who control the smuggling routes along the southwest border.
The task force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, and endanger migrants, pose national security threats, or are involved in organized crime. Between fy 2019 and 2023, dea authorized over 4,000 hsi agents annually to participate in drug investigations, focusing on smuggling across u.s However, dea lacks tracking mechanisms for processing times of these authorizations and has not set timeliness goals.
