The United States Department of the Treasury announced this Tuesday sanctions against 13 individuals and 12 Chinese entities for their relationship with the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl, an extremely addictive opioid drug that has caused a growing wave of overdose deaths in the United States.

“Treasury has taken radical steps (…) to expose and dismantle a network responsible for manufacturing and distributing illicit drugs, including fentanyl and other substances that claim thousands of American lives each year,” the undersecretary said in a statement. of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo.

Specifically, the sanctions affect companies, such as Jinhu Minsheng Pharmaceutical Machinery or Hanhong Pharmaceutical Technology, which have distributed tons of substances such as fentanyl, methamphetamine and MDMA, as well as xylazine, a sedative that is often mixed with other drugs.

The sanctions, which also affect two entities and one individual from Canada, come after Washington designated Beijing as a drug transit or production country, which places the Asian giant on a 'black list' along with countries like Colombia. , Afghanistan or Mexico.

In parallel, the Department of Justice has announced that eight companies and 12 Chinese citizens have been charged with attempting to send chemicals to the United States for the manufacture of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs.