Trump announces plan to launch anti-drug campaign, label cartels 'terrorist organizations'

U.S President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday (December 22) he will launch a new anti-drug advertising campaign to show the physical impact of taking drugs like fentanyl and repeated his threat to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. "We're going to advertise how bad drugs are for you. They ruin your look, they ruin your face, they ruin your skin, they ruin your teeth," Trump said at a conference of the conservative group Turning Point in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump gave few concrete details about the ad campaign, which he does not appear to have mentioned before and that he likened to running a political campaign. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for further information. Trump's plan has echoes of the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign, led by Republican former first lady Nancy Reagan in the 1980s to encourage young Americans to refuse drugs. Between 50,000 and 60,000 Americans are projected to die from synthetic opioid overdoses this year, most from taking fentanyl or closely related drugs. The fentanyl crisis featured heavily in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, even though synthetic opioid deaths more than doubled under his 2017-2021 administration. Trump on Sunday also revived a campaign vow to designate Mexico's drug cartels as terrorist groups. Some U.S. officials had also privately expressed misgivings that the measure could damage relations with Mexico and hinder the Mexican government's fight against drug trafficking. (Production: Ashraf Fahim)