WASHINGTON – Even as the United States struggles to fight the fentanyl epidemic, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is closing two of its offices in China, according to The Associated Press (AP). The news source sites an email from DEA Administrator Anne Milgram that informed agents about plans to close more than a dozen offices worldwide, including those in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Once these offices close, the DEA’s only remaining presence in China will be in Beijing and the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong.
According to The AP, it took years of pressure from the U.S. before China agreed to allow DEA offices outside of Beijing in 2017. However, a U.S. official speaking anonymously to The AP stated that cooperation from Chinese authorities was mostly symbolic. DEA agents in those offices faced significant restrictions and even struggled to obtain visas.
As previously reported by Emily’s Hope, the DEA identifies Mexico and China as the primary sources of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the U.S. In response, the White House has sanctioned more than two dozen individuals and entities based in China.