Middle Georgia federal prosecutors support fight to get fentanyl off streets

One of the fugitives, José Pineda Pérez, was ultimately bound for downtown Athens to appear in federal court before Judge Tripp Self. He is allegedly a member of the CJNG cartel, who faces life in prison for charges of allegedly distributing poison to the Athens population and beyond. His case, which is pending trial, represents one of many prosecutions targeting cartel members and leaders of transnational criminal organizations handled by this office.

We are going after major criminal networks

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Immediately after new leadership was installed at the U.S. Department of Justice, we received our marching orders. Our mission was to totally eliminate international drug cartels from the United States — an objective that I am pleased to support.

We are doing this by charging and pursuing the most serious, readily provable offenses against the worst actors, even if they are abroad. This means we are ensuring that the most serious criminal conduct earns a lengthy sentence with an unavoidable mandatory minimum term of imprisonment and no parole. I’m incredibly proud of the progress this administration has made on this front.

Our office has fewer prosecutors compared to larger offices in big cities, but we are not letting that hold us back from prosecuting major criminal networks — including Mexican cartels. I’m proud to share that we have made significant progress toward achieving this goal.

In Columbus, Operation Sweet Silence resulted in the seizure of $20 million in drugs from gangs supplied by the Sinaloa cartel and 30 convictions. In Athens, we worked with the FBI to seize 26 firearms (including a grenade launcher), $900,000 in controlled substances and, most troubling, 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl near the University of Georgia.

We also prosecuted individuals for trafficking fentanyl from China using contraband cellphones, cryptocurrency and the dark web. Recently, we secured a double life sentence for a Georgia man convicted of distributing hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine for a cartel, showing that those who assist international criminal organizations face severe consequences. Our prosecutors and partners are protecting the American homeland every day.

Treatment and prosecution go hand in hand

I spend a lot of time meeting with community members to discuss the challenges we face and the steps we are taking to address them. Unsurprisingly, fentanyl rests at the top of the list of problems. The reality is almost everyone has a friend, classmate, family member or acquaintance who has overdosed from drugs that contained fentanyl. Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon.

In May, the press reported on the positive national data that overdose deaths in the United States are continuing to decline. The reported overdose deaths continue to be mainly from synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, and psychostimulants, like methamphetamine. Public health experts note the decline is because of many factors, including telemedicine to treat addiction and increased access to naloxone (commonly known as Narcan).

I firmly believe the decrease is also due in part to our renewed focus on targeting this problem at its root: the cartels. Federal pressure on organized crime has a deterrent effect. Recidivist drug dealers in federal prisons cannot continue to distribute poison. It’s working.

While I don’t know if we will ever win the “war on drugs” as it was coined in the 1970s, I do know that fighting for a “Fentanyl Free America” is a righteous and worthy fight, and we are not backing down.

Will Keyes is the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, covering 70 counties and approximately 2 million people. He also serves as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve.

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