Mexico anti-drug commercial using video from Philadelphia shows city has become ‘shame of the nation’: Jennifer Stefano
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Jennifer Stefano argues Mexico is an 'enormous part' of the city's drug problem and points the finger at Democrat leadership for the crime crisis.
A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist is calling out Democratic leadership in the city after Mexico released anti-drug PSAs featuring homelessness and open drug use on the streets of the city's Kensington neighborhood.
Jennifer Stefano joined "America's Newsroom" Tuesday to point the finger at the mayor and district attorney for the drug and crime crisis plaguing her city.
"It is one of the most tragic things you'll ever see," Stefano said. "This is an example of a couple of things, the failed war on drugs, but also the total and complete totalitarian hold of the Democratic Party on the city of Philadelphia for the last 60-plus years. And also a George Soros-funded district attorney, Larry Krasner, overseeing this. There has been no solutions, no answers, and more lives lost and devastation."
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Kensington, a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, is known for an abundance of open-air recreational drug markets and drug-related violence. (Fox News)
Mexico's national ad campaign to try to scare young people away from drugs never identifies the city or neighborhood shown. The use of the videos, apart from sparking concern over Philadelphia’s image, or whether those filmed had given their consent, raised questions, in part because Mexico is the source of most of the fentanyl being sold in the United States.
"It's no lost irony on any of us who love and care about the city of Philadelphia that Mexico is an enormous part of the problem," Stefano said. "They allow illegal drugs to flow through the border into the United States and do not protect their northern border, our southern border. [It's] hugely problematic."
Image shows dirt-bike rider hurling an item at a Philadelphia police vehicle on Oct. 16, 2022. (Philadelphia Police Department)
As the city battles rising violent crime, a Pennsylvania House committee investigating Krasner released a report in October heavily criticizing the Philadelphia district attorney for policies they believe contributed to the crisis.
Stefano asked what Mayor Jim Kenney and Krasner are waiting for as they continue to promise to fix drugs and crime yet "never deliver," despite bipartisan support to find solutions.
"It is the shame of the nation that this is happening," she said.
"If you live in the city, your lives are worsening. The crime is worse, the murders are worse, and there's no safe neighborhood. There's no good neighborhood. Everywhere is vulnerable."
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According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Mayor's Office acknowledged the drug problem but said it is not limited to one city or neighborhood, and noted that all people are capable of "hope, healing, and resilience."
"The opioid and overdose crisis in Philadelphia is part of a national and even international epidemic, and we agree it is important for everyone to understand, as this video notes, that all street drugs now present an elevated risk of overdose because of fentanyl’s extreme prevalence," a spokesperson for Mayor Kenney said.
"Having said that, it is always hard to see our city’s people and neighborhoods portrayed in a limited and negative light. No neighborhood, and no person, should be defined by this tragic and widespread crisis," the office said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.