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Worse than Futile: What’s Wrong with Using the U.S. Military to Counter Fentanyl

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Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC
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Featuring
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera headshot
Guadalupe Correa‐​Cabrera

Professor, George Mason University

Brian Finucane headshot
Brian Finucane

Senior Adviser, U.S. Program, Crisis Group

Recent legislation in Congress has proposed designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations; pushing the administration to designate fentanyl precursor chemicals as chemical weapons; and even authorizing the use of military force in Mexico. As the fentanyl crisis persists in the United States, several Republican presidential candidates have echoed these calls for using the U.S. military to combat fentanyl. What would these bills and proposals do, practically? What are the likely consequences of using the U.S. military in this way? And what policies hold greater hope of lessening the harm of fentanyl inside the United States? Please join our panel for an examination of these and other pressing questions surrounding proposals for militarizing the drug war at the border. A happy hour reception will follow.