Trump 'drug czar' warns of deadly 'rhino tranquilizer' killing Americans as cartel crackdown escalates
Medetomidine prevalence in drug seizures has grown since 2023, primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, officials say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Trump administration issued a dire warning to Americans regarding a deadly new drug surfacing in U.S. communities.
"Drug czar" Sara Carter joined "Hannity" on Monday to discuss medetomidine, a potent sedative sometimes called "rhino tranquilizer."
"For the first time, we partnered with the CDC to issue an alert," Carter told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "We sent it across the country to warn first responders and doctors that we have medetomidine out there."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The federal alert warns that medetomidine is increasingly being found mixed into illicit fentanyl, something Carter warns "kills." Its prevalence in drug seizures has grown since 2023, primarily appearing in the Northeast and Midwest, according to the health advisory.
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"Medetomidine represents a real threat to communities, and this once again reaffirms that the only safe level of illegal drug use is zero," Carter, director of National Drug Control Policy, wrote in the White House alert.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said the alert is part of the Trump administration’s effort to support law enforcement in cracking down on smuggling. Carter noted that by using tools like nationwide wastewater testing, the administration was able to detect the rise of the drug early.
"We are going to stay ahead of our adversaries. We are not going to sit there and support policies that only benefit the drug cartels and our adversaries," Carter added. "We put a stop to that."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Donald Trump signed an executive order classifying fentanyl as a "weapon of mass destruction" during a ceremony in the Oval Office on Dec. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Carter also discussed President Donald Trump’s "power through strength" strategy to target cartels.
"What he says, he means," she said. "Whether you're talking to leaders in Central America or Mexico, like I have, or across the globe."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She noted that major operations, such as the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and partnering with Mexico to take out cartel leader El Mencho, sent a message that the United States intends to protect the Western Hemisphere from narco-terrorists.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Delcy Rodríguez attend Maduro’s second-term swearing-in ceremony at Congress in Caracas on May 24, 2018. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
"This is President Trump's promise to the American people: We will not relent," Carter said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We'll not only remove the heads of the snake, we're going to remove their financing. We're going to hit them where it hurts most. We're going to pull the rug out from under them, and they will be struggling to survive," she added.
The crackdown follows the administration's December 2025 move to officially designate fentanyl and its precursor chemicals as Weapons of Mass Destruction. That designation expanded the U.S. ability to use intelligence-gathering tactics and military resources to "eliminate" the threat of illicit substances.