The president on Monday designated fentanyl and the precursor chemicals to produce the opioid as weapons of mass destruction.

Label is the latest instance of Trump using militarised language to justify US operations against drug smuggling.

President Donald Trump on Monday designated illicit fentanyl as a "weapon of mass destruction" in an executive order. The order goes beyond calling it a lethal drug.

The president on Monday designated fentanyl and the precursor chemicals to produce the opioid as weapons of mass destruction.