Trump to confront Colombia’s Petro on drug allegations as U.S. overdose deaths decline

Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have dropped by 21% through most of the past year as the Trump administration escalates efforts to crack down on supply and demand.

The news was announced ahead of President Trump’s White House meeting Tuesday with Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Mr. Trump has accused Mr. Petro of trafficking cocaine and has revoked his U.S. visa and imposed sanctions on him and his family.

Mr. Trump also has threatened to use the U.S. military in Colombia to crack down on narcotics, as it did in Venezuela. U.S. troops captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3. They are now in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to narco-terrorism charges.

“Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters last month.

Mr. Petro has denied the allegations and has vowed to cooperate with the Trump administration on drug raids in his country. Last week, he announced that Colombian security forces had killed five members of the country’s largest drug cartel, including a regional kingpin.

Yet he has been critical of Mr. Trump’s actions in Venezuela and angered White House officials in September by participating in a pro-Palestinian rally in New York.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio granted Mr. Petro a temporary U.S. entry authorization to meet with Mr. Trump, suggesting that tensions between the two nations were easing.

U.S. and Colombian officials have said publicly that the sit-down will focus on intensifying the fight against drug cartels, as well as trade and joint economic opportunities.

The meeting is Mr. Trump’s latest move to crack down on the flow of drugs into America. Since he returned to office, the military has bombed boats that his administration says are carrying illicit substances to the U.S., he has struck a trade deal with China that requires Beijing to clamp down on the production of chemicals used to make fentanyl, and he has tightened the porous U.S. border where many of the drugs were coming into the country.

Data released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that some of those actions are helping to alleviate a crisis that has been worsening for decades.

An estimated 73,000 people died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in August, a 21% decrease from 92,000 during the previous 12-month period.

Overdose deaths had been rising steadily each year since the 1990s because of the prevalence of opioid painkillers and heroin. As opioid use started to wane, fentanyl became popular, with drug deaths peaking at 110,000 in 2022. The numbers began to decline slightly in 2023 and 2024 under President Biden.

The CDC also found fewer drug deaths in 45 states.

Researchers did not say why drug deaths are declining. Possible explanations include the increased use of naloxone, which reverses overdoses, expanded addiction treatment, and a trend among younger generations of lower drug use.

Although Mr. Trump has largely fought to reduce the supply of drugs flowing into the U.S., he has recently shifted to addressing the demand for illicit substances.

On Thursday, he launched the Great American Recovery, a program to bolster the federal government’s response to substance abuse.

The objective is to treat drug addiction and substance abuse in the same manner as other chronic health issues and to better align federal resources, establish national goals and use data to influence the government’s response to addiction.

The initiative also will focus on increasing awareness about the dangers of drug addiction and work with federal agencies to integrate drug prevention programs, early intervention, treatment, recovery support and reentry into society.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kathryn Burgum, who is married to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, will chair the panel. Mrs. Burgum struggled with alcoholism before becoming sober 22 years ago and is a vocal advocate for addiction recovery.

“We’re taking a bold action to help Americans struggling with all forms of addiction so they can get the help and support that they need to free themselves from the horrible burden of dependency,” Mr. Trump said. “It will help mobilize the full resources and authority of the federal government to help stop this plague.”

Mr. Kennedy said the initiative will require coordination among various agencies rather than siloing federal substance abuse programs in different departments.

Federal funding for drug recovery comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Last month, the Trump administration reversed course and dropped plans to cut $2 billion from the agency.

In 2024, more than 74% of adults who perceived they had a problem with drugs or alcohol considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered, according to government data. The same data showed that 40.7 million adults with substance abuse disorders in 2024 did not receive treatment and 95.6% did not recognize that they needed it.