WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday highlighted what it called a year of historic enforcement results in 2025, citing large-scale drug seizures, major arrests and extraditions, and leadership changes aimed at combating transnational drug cartels and reducing overdose deaths.
The agency reported that its efforts last year focused on dismantling Mexican drug cartels, disrupting chemical supply chains and reducing drug-related violence in cities across the country. Those operations resulted in the seizure of 47 million fentanyl pills, nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, more than 567,000 pounds of cocaine, 172,853 pounds of methamphetamine and about 2,700 pounds of heroin.
DEA officials said the fentanyl seized in 2025 represented the equivalent of 369 million potentially lethal doses.
The update followed the appointment of DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole, who was nominated by President Donald Trump on Feb. 11, 2025, and sworn in July 23. Cole is a 22-year veteran of the agency and became only the third Senate-confirmed DEA special agent to lead the organization.
DEA officials said the agency also launched the Fentanyl Free America initiative in October, combining enforcement operations with public awareness efforts designed to reduce both the supply of and demand for fentanyl. According to the agency, synthetic opioid deaths declined in 2024 to just over 50,000, down from nearly 80,000 in 2023, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency said intensified enforcement against foreign terrorist organizations designated as drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, led to changes in cartel operations. DEA laboratory testing showed 29% of fentanyl pills analyzed in fiscal year 2025 contained a potentially lethal dose, down from 76% in fiscal year 2023. Officials also reported a decline in fentanyl powder purity to 10.3%, compared with 19.5% two years earlier.
During targeted operations in August and September, DEA said enforcement actions against the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels resulted in nearly 1,300 arrests, the seizure of 664 firearms, almost $30 million in illicit proceeds and an additional $30 million in assets.
The agency also cited a series of high-profile extraditions and convictions. In February 2025, the United States secured custody of 29 defendants from Mexico, including Rafael Caro Quintero, who is accused of involvement in the 1985 killing of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In March, CJNG leader Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, known as “El Menchito,” was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
In June, Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, a co-founder of the Los Cuinis drug trafficking organization, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and in August, Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada Garcia pleaded guilty to racketeering-related charges. That same month, U.S. authorities took custody of 26 additional fugitives from Mexico, including another Los Cuinis leader, Abigael Gonzalez Valencia.
DEA officials also highlighted several record-setting seizures, including 2.7 million fentanyl pills seized in Albuquerque in May, 1.7 million pills seized in Colorado in November, and more than 21,800 kilograms of suspected cocaine recovered during a single U.S. Coast Guard patrol.
The agency said it will continue focusing on enforcement, education, public awareness and partnerships in 2026 as it works to disrupt drug trafficking organizations and reduce the toll of drug-related deaths across the United States.
