Drug prosecutions plunge under Trump as feds pulled elsewhere: report

Drug enforcement has plummeted while federal agents have been otherwise focused on deportations across the United States.

Reuters legal reporter Brad Heath reported Monday that federal prosecutions of drug crimes have fallen considerably, and not because trafficking has declined.

"So far this year, about 10% fewer people have been prosecuted for drug violations compared to the same period of 2024," wrote Heath, citing court records. It's a decrease "of about 1,200 cases and the slowest rate since at least the late 1990s."

The numbers are more dramatic for cases involving "types of conspiracy and money-laundering cases often used to pursue higher-level traffickers. The number of people charged with money-laundering dropped by 24%, according to Reuters' analysis."

Heath reported that the shift of cops to immigration has "produced a coast-to-coast slowdown in the types of investigations and prosecutions that the government had long viewed as central to taking on criminal networks."

This includes going after the drug cartels, which has taken a backseat to the White House's high quotas of deportations it wants each week.

“We’re seeing a reduced amount of time on long-term investigations so agents can go out in their raid gear and be seen supporting immigration raids,” a senior Justice Department official involved in those investigations told Reuters.

Heath explained on Bluesky that there is no indication "that drug trafficking has suddenly become less common. The quantity of drugs seized through August by U.S. Customs and Border Protection was higher than during the same months in 2024."

Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal report revealed earlier this month that the drug cartels have joined forces and begun coordinating to increase the product coming into the United States. The amount of cocaine has become so significant that the price has dropped.

"Cocaine prices have fallen by nearly half to around $60 to $75 a gram compared with five years ago," the Journal reported, citing Drug Checking Los Angeles researcher Morgan Godvin.