Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Remarks at the DEA Family Summit

Remarks as Delivered

Good morning.

Thank you, Jon. And thank you, Anne, for everything you have done to create this space in which all of us can be together.

On behalf of the entire Justice Department, I want to express my condolences for the unimaginable pain and loss that those gathered here have experienced.

To each and every one of you: We are so grateful that you have joined us.

Your presence is a testament to your courage and your resilience.

And your advocacy is a testament to your enduring love for those you have lost.

By sharing, though, their stories, you are honoring their legacies.

And you are bringing the kind of awareness and attention that we know saves lives.

I know there is nothing that I – or anyone – can say that will bring back your loved ones. But I also know you are here today to try to prevent any other family from going through what you have endured. So, I want to provide some updates on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat this epidemic.

First, we are trying to make everyone in our country aware of the urgent threat posed by the drug poisoning and the overdose epidemic.

All of us in this room know that this epidemic is being fueled by synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.

We know that fentanyl is a nearly invisible poison, and that many people who take it have no idea they are taking it.

We know that is because violent drug cartels are manufacturing and moving fake pills designed to look exactly like brand name drugs. And instead, they contain deadly amounts of fentanyl.

And we know that no one – no one person, and no one family – can defeat this epidemic alone. We need each other.

That is why the Justice Department is providing resources to public health and public safety programs across the country. Those programs support education and awareness efforts, as well as prevention, treatment, and recovery services.

Today, I can share that the Department’s Office of Justice Programs will be awarding a total of over $345 million in grant funding, training, and technical assistance to support these efforts in the coming year.

Close to a third of that funding will go to our Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Program. These funds can be used for a wide range of projects. These include increasing access to naloxone and medication-assisted treatment, as well as providing peer support to overdose survivors and their families.

Also included in that funding will be $25 million to support mentoring and other services specifically for young people. These include support for young people who have been affected by opioid and other substance use, as well as those who are at risk for misusing substances.

No one – especially no young person – should have to face this threat alone.

In addition to prevention and support, we are committed to bringing to justice those responsible for this epidemic in the first place.

I am grateful to Administrator Milgram and the extraordinary men and women of the DEA who are working with their state and local partners every day to seize deadly drugs.

So far in 2023, the DEA has seized over 55 million fentanyl pills and over 9,000 pounds of fentanyl powder.

Agents and prosecutors across the Justice Department and across the country are working tirelessly to prosecute those who flood our communities with deadly drugs.

Specifically, we have zeroed in on the notoriously violent Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels. They are fueling this epidemic.

Earlier this spring, we charged 23 Sinaloa Cartel members, associates, and leaders for their roles in running the largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world. Our indictments describe in detail how these cartels operate – without respect for human rights, for human life, or for the rule of law.

Our charges make clear that the Justice Department is attacking every single aspect of the cartels’ operations.

That includes going after their suppliers in China who sell fentanyl precursor chemicals to the cartels.

It includes going after their brokers, who purchase the precursor chemicals on behalf of the cartels;

It includes the operators of the clandestine labs in Mexico where the cartels manufacture fentanyl;

It includes the leaders of the cartels’ security forces who protect those labs and terrorize communities;

It includes the weapons suppliers who arm the cartels with firearms smuggled into Mexico from the United States;

It includes the money launderers who enable the cartels to fund their operations;

It includes the drug traffickers who move this deadly poison into our communities;

And, it includes going after the cartels’ leaders.

Two weeks ago, we extradited Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, from Mexico to the United States. He is a son of the infamous El Chapo, and one of the more than a dozen cartel leaders we have indicted and extradited to the United States. He will not be the last.

Across the Justice Department – from our agents here at DEA to all 94 of our United States Attorneys’ Offices – we are re-working to bring to justice those who endanger our communities with deadly drugs.

For example, just last Thursday in Missouri, we arrested 13 people for their alleged involvement in a fentanyl and methamphetamine conspiracy.

Also on Thursday, and also in Missouri, a defendant was sentenced for selling fake pain pills containing fentanyl, which resulted in the death of a man who left behind an almost two-year old child.

The man’s mother wrote to the judge that her son knew the risks of fentanyl, and that he knew it was deadly. But the defendant reassured him in a text message don’t worry, the pills are real prescription tablets. The victim’s mother said her son had just started a new job and was on the road to recovery. She wrote: “his life was changing, he just needed more time.”

Last Wednesday, a defendant in Texas was sentenced to prison for selling fake pills laced with fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of three people.

Last Tuesday, we charged two defendants in New York in connection with the poisoning of four children at a Bronx day care, one of whom tragically died.  

That same day, a defendant in Rhode Island was sentenced to prison for his role in a conspiracy to traffic drugs, including fentanyl – often by hiding them in packages containing children’s items, such as toy trucks and Halloween decorations.

And last Monday, we secured the sentence of a defendant in Nebraska for a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl that resulted in a man’s death.

These cases are just a snapshot of the work our agents and prosecutors are doing every single day to hold accountable those responsible for poisoning Americans. We will never stop.

Our continued commitment to you is that as we undertake all of this work, we will remember your loved ones. We do our work because of them – and to honor of them.

We will remember that they were extraordinary people with full lives ahead of them.

We will remember that they had hopes and dreams for their futures.

We will remember that they were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, and beloved friends.

We will remember them, and we will remember all of the victims of the poisoning and overdose epidemic.

We will never give up in our efforts to pursue justice for them – and for you.

And we will never relent in our efforts to hold accountable those responsible for their deaths.

Thank you so much for being with us today.