Fentanyl: Fighting the Mass Poisoning of America and the Cartel Behind it

Fentanyl is a first-person, insider account of how the crisis consumed the Biden Administration amid a series of other national security emergencies. It follows Jake Braun, a senior White House official, and his colleagues while they scramble to respond to the epidemic. As Mexican cartels ruthlessly executed their most radical transformation in 50 years, Braun and his colleagues architected the first U.S. government wide strategy to combat fentanyl in history. The effort brought him to Mexico to meet with Mexican agents who kick down cartel doors for the U.S. government there. He also spent time with data analytics wizards buried in nondescript offices in Virginia suburbs that hunt down Chinese fentanyl precursor chemicals on the Dark Web. He even takes a detour to gather intelligence from Russian migrants in U.S. detention facilities that migrated through cartel-controlled areas of Mexico. In the process, Braun uncovered the remarkable transformation cartels in Mexico underwent over the last 50 years. They morphed from narco-empires the size of Fortune 50 companies specializing in marijuana and cocaine to ones specializing in human migration and, separately, fentanyl. After much painstaking effort, the Biden Administration successfully executed the most sweeping takedown of cartel leadership and fentanyl infrastructure since the crisis began. Due to the efforts of heroic agents, intelligence officers and national security experts, the leviathan U.S. government is now marshaled in ways never before imagined against the Chinese chemical companies and cartels propagating the fentanyl epidemic. Further, the strategy seems to be working. Just a year after it was kicked off, the fentanyl fatalities dropped nearly 37%. Yet the crisis persists. Finally, Braun draws on his unique experience combating the epidemic to outline how the U.S. government can once and for all end the fentanyl crisis in America.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: The Tyranny of the Urgent 2. Hunting Coyotes 3. Russians 4. Fentanyl Disruption 5. Something Else Altogether 6. Sinaloa 7. Narco Capitalism 8. Byzantium 9. Technology to the Rescue 10. Gallant Phoenix 11. The Agent 12. Mexico City 13. Blue Lotus

About the Author :
Jake Braun has worked at the intersection of politics, national security, and foreign policy for over two decades. He was appointed by President Obama as White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security and later served as Principal Deputy National Cyber Director and Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security under the Biden Administration. After returning to Chicago, Braun produced several award-winning reports on election security, established the Cyber Policy Initiative at the University of Chicago, and co-founded a national security consulting firm. He is the author of Democracy in Danger.

Review :
A haunting and eye-opening first-hand account of the challenges that have plagued the United States in battling a drug epidemic unlike any other. Braun's experience in Washington and in Mexico will leave the reader with a clearer understanding of the global scale of the problem and the heroic efforts taken by brave Americans to take on Mexican cartels to bring overdose deaths down from historic levels. In this story of the fight against fentanyl, Jake Braun takes us to the intersection of national security and homeland security. He explores the complex details of working with partners and confronting adversaries in the international arena while also coordinating federal, state and local government entities within the United States. He brings to life the scale and urgency of this severe challenge to America. Fentanyl is a riveting journey into the fentanyl epidemic from the perspective of the law enforcement and national security leaders charged with addressing it. As one who was on the front lines of our assault against the cartels trafficking fentanyl, I found Braun's storytelling and in depth analysis of the epidemic both compelling and true to life. This is a must read for those seeking to understand how the Homeland and National Security apparatus surges to combat existential threats to America. An insider look at parts of one of America's most intense fights that have never been reported before. A compelling account of the extraordinary challenges and complexities of our nation's fentanyl epidemic . . . Braun's first-hand description of the key facets of this insidious problem and how authorities surged to stymie the cartels and Chinese chemical companies is essential reading.