Big Sky Times

Tim Sheehy, a U.S. Senate Candidate in Montana, has asserted that thousands of families have lost loved ones to "Chinese fentanyl" which enters the United States from Mexico due to border policies implemented by the Biden Administration. Sheehy contends that these policies are supported by his opponent, Senator Jon Tester. Sheehy shared his statement with the Big Sky Times on May 21.

"Tens of thousands of families mourn the loss of loved ones to Chinese fentanyl that came across the southern border, and Montana communities are being devastated because Jon Tester rubber-stamped Joe Biden's radical open border, pro-amnesty, pro-illegal immigration agenda," said Sheehy, US Senate Candidate in Montana.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment, fentanyl is named as the deadliest drug in American history. It is reported to have claimed the lives of 38,000 Americans in just "the first six months of 2023 alone." The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are implicated in facilitating the presence of fentanyl across nearly all 50 US states. They reportedly produce the drug in Mexico and smuggle it into the United States, earning "billions of dollars in profits from the fentanyl trade." The DEA report details their operations as encompassing every stage of the supply chain, from sourcing precursor chemicals to manufacturing drugs and managing logistics through a network of collaborators including international shippers, transporters, corrupt officials, tunnel builders, shell companies, and money launderers.

The DEA's 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment also reveals that the Sinaloa Cartel has partnered with Chinese chemical suppliers to enable production of synthetic drugs, mainly fentanyl. In addition to this, they collaborate with Chinese money laundering organizations to return profit to Mexico.

According to a press release from DEA's Rocky Mountain Division, fentanyl has become not only the deadliest drug in America but also the primary cause of death for Americans aged between 18 and 45 years old. Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 saw a record amount of seizures of fentanyl pills both for the Rocky Mountain division and on a national scale. "Fentanyl continues to be the deadliest drug threat facing our nation. The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division, in collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners, prevented more than 3.4 million fentanyl pills from reaching our communities in calendar year 2023," said David Olesky, Acting Special Agent in Charge for DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division. In Montana alone, there were 17.87 kgs of fentanyl seized, which is equal to approximately 106,500 pills.

According to NBC News, Montana Indian reservations have been specifically targeted by drug operations due primarily to a lack of law enforcement. Currently, the major issue in Montana is fentanyl. Fentanyl pills can be sold for 20 times the price in Montana as they can in urban areas closer to the border. "People are surprised," said Jesse Laslovich, the U.S. attorney for Montana. "You’re as far north as you can get in the United States, and yet we have the cartel here."

According to Sheehy's campaign website, Tim Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL officer as well as a CEO and entrepreneur. Sheehy founded Bridger Aerospace and Ascent Vision Technologies and is currently running for U.S. Senate in Montana.