Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Meet the team that’s dismantling the illicit drug trade

The White House • April 20, 2018

President Trump visited the Joint Interagency Task Force South yesterday in Key West. The Task Force is a crucial team that many Americans have likely never heard about. Led by top officials from the Armed Services and key Federal agencies, its efforts to dismantle the illicit drug trade have saved countless American lives.

The Task Force faced record drug production during Fiscal Year 2017. In response, it supported the removal of a record 283 metric tons of cocaine and 5 kilograms of heroin, as well as the detention of 900 suspected members of drug trafficking organizations. Helping to lead an international coalition, the Task Force oversees a staggering area of 42 million square miles across the globe.

"We are behind you all the way," President Trump said. "And we want to thank you." The President called on Congressional Democrats to support the Task Force by closing loopholes that allow drugs and human traffickers to spill into the United States. "We need border protection; we need the wall," he said.


President Donald J Trump, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen at the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West |

April 19, 2018, Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

President Trump visits the task force that saves American lives by fighting the flow of drugs.