El Paso Standard

Gov. Greg Abbott took to Twitter Oct. 21 to announce that the Texas Department of Public Safety has seized more than 337 million lethal fentanyl doses since the creation of Operation Lone Star. 

According to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC), Abbott launched Operation Lone State in March of 2021 to use the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to boost border security and stem the flow of illegal drugs into the state, resulting in the seizures cited by Abbott in a tweet. 

“We're fighting the fentanyl crisis by securing the border and designating cartels as terrorist organizations,” Abbott said in the tweet. 

In addition to the drug seizures, Abbott noted in a news release from his office that authorities have caught 317,000 migrants with more than 21,000 criminal arrests, including 18,600 felony charges. 

Abbott continued his efforts last week when he kicked off the “One Pill Kills” campaign to combat the fentanyl crisis, according to the news release. He also noted in the release that the state has labeled Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. 

Abbott also noted in the news release that fentanyl remains a threat to Texas and continued to point a finger at the Biden administration for its “negligence to address this national security threat.”