Angel Santo Jerez Matos, 60, a/k/a “El Colonel,” today admitted his role in conspiring to traffic approximately 300 grams of fentanyl into New Jersey, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Matos was a supplier of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine to a drug trafficking organization operating in and around New Jersey.
Congressman Chris Smith today pressed representatives of the State Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency to use the tools prescribed in the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction bad actors in China who are contributing to the opioid overdose crisis in the United States through the manufacture and distribution of the synthetic drug fentanyl.
“Chinese-made fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is killing Americans—more than 29,000 in 2017 alone,” Smith said. “We must hold the Chinese government accountable.”(Click here to read Chairman Smith’s full opening statement)
“Are we using existing tools to hold bad actors in China accountable? We have tools, such as the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets corrupt officials and human rights abusers. Perhaps it is time we start thinking outside the box and use something like Global Magnitsky to ensure that corrupt Chinese officials and narco-traffickers are held to account,” Smith said during a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Global Heath, which he chairs.Read the rest of this entry »
Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Global Health, will hold a hearing on China’s role in the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is killing thousands of American citizens, on Thursday, September 6, 2 p.m., in the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will be streamed live from the Committee’s website.
Smith announced the hearing during his remarks at Robbinville’s International Overdose Awareness Day last week.
Angel Santo Jerez Matos, 60, a/k/a “El Colonel,” today admitted his role in conspiring to traffic approximately 300 grams of fentanyl into New Jersey, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
Congressman Chris Smith today pressed representatives of the State Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency to use the tools prescribed in the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction bad actors in China who are contributing to the opioid overdose crisis in the United States through the manufacture and distribution of the synthetic drug fentanyl.