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The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced this Wednesday a 46% decline in fentanyl-related deaths in the state during the first half of 2025, according to the latest report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE, for its acronym in English).
The announcement was made from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, with the presence of FDLE agents and local authorities.
"Our efforts are saving lives. The latest report from the FDLE shows that drug-related deaths statewide decreased by 19% overall between January and June of 2025. Deaths from fentanyl—the drug most commonly involved in fatal overdoses—fell by 46%," DeSantis stated.
The governor attributed the results to a strategy that combines criminal prosecution, stricter legislation, and immigration control.
"These results occurred because Florida has supported law enforcement. We have empowered state agents and local agencies to aggressively tackle traffickers, and we have provided them with the necessary resources to do the job," he stated.
One of the pillars of this strategy is the SAFE program (State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication), established in 2023 to fund large-scale operations against trafficking networks. Since its launch, the program has resulted in the seizure of over 403 pounds of fentanyl and approximately 57,000 pills as part of 160 investigations.
In June 2025, Florida seized the equivalent of two million lethal doses of the drug in a single operation in the northern part of the state, where 12,500 pills and over two pounds of powdered fentanyl were confiscated.
The Florida Attorney General, James Uthmeier, supported the announcement with equally compelling figures.
"Deaths from fentanyl decreased while our convictions for fentanyl trafficking increased by nearly 700% compared to 2024," Uthmeier stated.
The prosecutor emphasized that prosecutors have legal tools that include mandatory minimum sentences of up to 25 years in prison for fentanyl traffickers.
The downward trend is not new. The FDLE Annual Report for 2024 had already recorded a 35% decrease in fentanyl-related deaths compared to 2023, along with a 14% reduction in the total number of drug-related deaths in the state.
DeSantis also linked fentanyl trafficking to illegal immigration and cartel operations, and announced that he will recommend additional salary increases for state law enforcement officers and correctional staff in the current year's budget.
The fight against the opioid epidemic in Florida began in 2019, when DeSantis signed an executive order to tackle the crisis. Nationwide, overdose deaths in the United States fell by approximately 27% in 2024 —the largest annual decrease recorded— according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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