Who is Peter Schweizer?

Peter Schweizer is the president of the Government Accountability Institute and a bestselling investigative author. His books include Clinton Cash, Secret Empires, Profiles in Corruption, Red Handed and Blood Money. He hosts The Drill Down podcast and frequently appears on national television to discuss corruption and national security. As one interviewer introduced him, he is “the most prolific expose writer in exposing government corruption,” with multiple number one titles on the New York Times list.

Schweizer has produced multi-year investigations into foreign influence, money laundering, and elite entanglements with hostile governments. In Red Handed (2022) and Blood Money (2024), he documents the fentanyl supply chain from Chinese chemical producers to Mexican drug labs to U.S. streets, combining leaked national security files, Mexican government correspondence, and Chinese corporate records. His research tracks chemicals, pill presses, laundering networks, and communications platforms that enable the trade.

Why He Calls the Cartels “Junior Partners”

Schweizer argues that Beijing directs the fentanyl ecosystem and that the cartels execute China’s plan. “The bottom line is, this is a Chinese operation, the drug cartels are the junior partners,” he said on Fox Business. He describes a vertical chain in which “the precursor chemicals…come from China, but they’re offloaded at the Port of Manzanillo in Mexico, which is run by a Chinese company.” He adds that “2,000 Chinese chemists…turn this into the deadly cocktail of fentanyl,” while “the drug cartels then use pill presses that the Chinese have sold to them at cost.” The proceeds, he says, are “now using state-owned banks” for laundering. His conclusion is blunt: “This is a strategic initiative by China to punish and damage the United States.”

Schweizer’s reporting lists several advantages the cartels receive from Chinese sources:

• Precursor chemicals to synthesize fentanyl, mass produced in Chinese industrial hubs such as Shijiazhuang and Wuhan, with companies enjoying tax credits and operating in zones tied to the state.
• Manufacturing support, including pill presses and molds. The Department of Justice warned that “Chinese Pill Presses Are Key Components for Illegally Manufactured Fentanyl,” and Schweizer notes they are often sold “at cost.”
• Technical labor, with “2,000 Chinese chemists” staffing Mexican labs according to the DEA, as cited by Schweizer.
• Money laundering pipelines, where Chinese brokers move cartel cash through “Chinese state-owned banks” and U.S.-based networks of couriers, students, and digital channels such as WeChat.
• Secure communications, including services that hosted servers in China-controlled jurisdictions and widespread use of WeChat, where, as one retired DEA official put it, “It is all happening on WeChat.”

Schweizer frames China as the senior partner. He writes that Beijing’s hand “can be found in every stage of the poison’s spread in North America,” from chemicals to presses to laundering and communications. He points to Chinese companies ignoring U.S. reporting laws on pill-press shipments, Chinese banks rapidly moving cartel proceeds, and Chinese platforms facilitating secure coordination. He also cites cases where cartel-linked figures indicted by the U.S. continued living freely in China. In his words, “This is a strategy initiated by China to punish and damage the US.”

The Human and National Damage

Schweizer ties the fentanyl crisis to a broader campaign against America. He emphasizes that fentanyl poisoning is “the leading cause of death in America for people under the age of 45,” and argues that China’s actions compound violence by smuggling illegal “auto sear” devices that convert handguns into machine guns, specifically targeting felons and gangs. He extends the threat to cultural influence and youth manipulation through platforms like TikTok, curriculum partnerships, and leverage over Hollywood content. The combined effect, he says, is societal destabilization and strategic harm to U.S. security.

What His Latest Books Argue

• Red Handed (2022) explores how American elites “get rich helping China win,” detailing financial ties that make leaders “reluctant to confront China.”
• Blood Money (2024) focuses on how “the powerful turn a blind eye while China kills Americans,” presenting fentanyl as a weaponized policy carried out through Chinese state-linked firms, criminal triads, and cartel partnerships.

Policy Responses He Supports

Schweizer applauds aggressive enforcement and economic pressure. “I applaud the Trump administration…for this operation to unwind part of the money-laundering aspect… and the Approach on tariffs Which is saying you are going to pay a price with tariffs as long as you continue to put this poison in the United States.” He also supports measures to force divestment of Chinese control over youth platforms, highlighting bipartisan moves to address TikTok’s ownership.

Schweizer distills his view into a clear hierarchy: “The senior partners here is the Chinese CCP… The fentanyl precursors come from China… The pill presses…come from China… and even the money laundering…is now done through Chinese state owned banks.” For this reason, he says, “the Mexican drug cartels are the junior partners,” executing a strategy he describes as intended “to punish and damage the United States.”

ACZ Editor: We have to go along with this assessment, China’s goal in working with the cartels is the decline in whatever fashion of the U.S. Operations of this kind are approved by Xi personally, there is no doubt he knows every detail.