Father who lost daughter to fentanyl overdose demands action on border crisis: 'Tragedy of epic proportions'
Matt Capelouto, who lost his daughter to a fentanyl overdose, joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss her tragedy and how it poses a national security threat.
A father who lost his daughter to a fentanyl overdose sounded the alarm Thursday on the tragic trend, demanding action on the border crisis as the deadly drug continues to plague communities nationwide.
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Matt Capelouto warned the spike in fentanyl-related deaths should be treated as a "national security threat" on "Fox & Friends First."
"I think there's a misconception that this is a… drug problem and this has to be looked at more as a national security threat," Capelouto told co-host Carley Shimkus. "We have people dying from this before they even have a chance to get addicted."
Capelouto lost his daughter in 2019 during her college winter break in Southern California after she took a fentanyl-laced Oxycodone pill. Capelouto said his then 20-year-old daughter was studying on a full academic scholarship at Arizona State University.
"This is just a tragedy beyond epic proportions, and aside from that drug dealer who is directly responsible for taking my daughter's life, we need to be addressing the cartels that are operating with impunity just south of our border and China, where those cartels are getting the fentanyl from," Capelouto said. "We are doing nothing to hold them accountable," he continued.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned earlier this month fentanyl overdoses are taking place at an "unprecedented rate" with 29 people dead and another 58 people who overdosed in recent weeks.
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TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Border Patrol agents working the Interstate 19 Immigration Checkpoint near Amado, Arizona, seized over 50 pounds of suspected fentanyl and arrested the driver of the vehicle on Oct. 13, 2021. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
"We need the media's help with this, and one way we can help is to stop using the term overdose," Capelouto said.
"Americans are being poisoned. My daughter received and took half of one pill which killed her. Overdoses is when you take too much of something… She was poisoned, and this is how many of our young people are dying."
California father Matt Capelouto with his family. (Fox News)
Meanwhile, border officials seized over 90 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill more than 10 million people, in one week as the crisis continues.
Border agents are bracing for an additional influx of migrants and drug seizures as the Biden administration is expected to lift Title 42 in May.