U.S. President Donald Trump’s war on drugs threatens to result in even more illegal narcotics flooding into Europe, according to a top German expert.
The American administration has, in recent weeks, launched airstrikes against what it says are South American drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean.
“A tougher U.S. crackdown on drug cartels in Colombia and Venezuela is unlikely to ease the situation in Europe or Germany — on the contrary: Experience shows that criminal networks respond with detours, new transit countries, and often even more potent ‘substitute substances,’” German Drug and Addiction Commissioner and virologist Hendrik Streeck told German tabloid BILD late Thursday.
“For Germany, that would mean possible shifts along sea and land routes, as well as in digital distribution. We already have highly dynamic structures of organized crime — especially online. The U.S. administration’s announced ‘war on drugs’ could further intensify this,” he added.
Streeck, who is pushing for a partial rollback of Germany’s cannabis legalization, described the narcotics situation in Germany as an “impending” crisis. He warned that cocaine prices are falling, that consumers are getting younger and drug-related deaths among people under 30 would rise dramatically.
According to the EU Drugs Agency, cocaine availability continues to increase across Europe. In 2023, for the seventh consecutive year, EU member countries reported a record amount of cocaine seized.
The U.S. government expanded its campaign against drug traffickers this week. On Tuesday, American forces launched an attack on a suspected smuggling vessel off Colombia’s western coast, killing two people. The strike fueled tensions between the two countries.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the lethal strike in a social media post, saying such operations would continue “day after day.”
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