Press Releases

The House Foreign Affairs Committee today advanced Rep. French Hill’s (AR-02) H.R. 6265, Countering Assad’s Proliferation Trafficking and Garnering of Narcotics (CAPTAGON) Act. H.R. 6265 requires the federal government to develop an interagency strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics production and trafficking and affiliated networks linked to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

“These drugs not only cripple local populations, they also serve to fuel hostilities and finance the Assad regime and Iran-backed groups in the region,” said Rep. Hill. “The U.S. government must do all it can to disrupt the industrial-level drug production currently taking place in Syria, and I thank my colleagues at the Foreign Affairs Committee for advancing this bill requiring the U.S. government develop an interagency strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics production, trafficking, and affiliated networks linked to the Assad regime.”

“I am pleased the Committee passed the CAPTAGON Act, which requires an interagency strategy to target the Assad regime’s narco-trafficking. The illicit trade of the addictive amphetamine Captagon generates billions of dollars. The Administration needs to develop and implement a plan to stop production and trafficking of these drugs. The Assad regime’s role in the Captagon trade directly undermines U.S. and international sanctions on the regime, while making the Middle East even more dangerous,” added House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (TX-10).

Further Background:

• On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, Rep. Hill delivered the keynote address at The Heritage Foundation’s event titled, “What’s Next in Syria: Captagon and Assad’s Booming Drug Empire.” 
  • To watch Rep. Hill's keynote remarks, click HERE or on the video below.
  
  
  
• On July 15, 2022, Rep. Hill, joined by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA-02), led a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting that the Biden administration review whether Syria meets the criteria of a “major illicit drug producing country” or “major-drug transit country” under the Foreign Assistance Act.
• On July 14, 2022, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, which included Rep. Hill’s provision to disrupt and dismantle the Assad regime’s illicit narcotic production and trafficking in Syria.