When transnational criminal organizations engage in drug and firearms trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, cybercrime, and money laundering, among other illicit activities, they threaten global public health, safety, and U.S. national security, while facilitating corruption that undermines the stability and security of partner nations. Today, we are taking significant steps to enhance our efforts to disrupt and deter transnational criminal activity globally.
For years, the United States has been in the grips of the worst drug epidemic in its history, driven by overdose deaths involving heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl and an increase in methamphetamine availability. Transnational criminal organizations are largely responsible for bringing these drugs and related violence to our communities. To counter this threat to the American people, President Biden has signed two new Executive Orders (E.O.) declaring a national emergency to deal with this epidemic and another formally establishing the U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime (USCTOC).
With these E.O.s, the President is taking decisive action to combat transnational criminal organizations. The USCTOC will leverage the resources of the Department of State and five other key departments and agencies to combat transnational organized crime more effectively, just as we are modernizing and expanding our ability to target drug trafficking organizations, their enablers, and financial facilitators. The Department of the Treasury's first designations under this new E.O. will help disrupt the global supply chain and the financial networks that enable synthetic opioids and precursor chemicals to reach the United States while also disrupting the flow of opioids domestically.
As part of this effort, we are announcing reward offers under the Department of State's Narcotics Reward Program (NRP) and Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP). Today's rewards announcements complement the Department of the Treasury's designation of 25 individuals and entities under the new E.O.
