TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Everyday Angelique Tadeo wears a necklace with her daughter Tara Aceves Tadeo’s ashes. Her granddaughter and Tara’s daughter, Graciella, also wears a necklace with her mom’s ashes.
“She was full of life, loved her kids, loved her family,” Angelique Tadeo described her daughter. “Life has moved on, but there’s a part of us that’s just stuck back on that day.”
The latest data from the CDC says the number of reported drug overdose deaths went down nationwide by over 27,000 from March of last year to March of this year.
“Just very thankful that less families have had to suffer like we have,” Tadeo commented on the data.
However, in Arizona during the same time period, the CDC said overall drug overdose deaths went up by 101.
“We’re so close to the border so I personally think that we need to put in the time and the money and the effort into restricting the flow of drugs at the border,” Angelique Tadeo said.
This fiscal year, CBP said fentanyl seizures nationwide have already gone down by more than half the pounds that were seized in fiscal year 2024. So far this fiscal year they said they have seized about 10,200 pounds while in the entirety of last fiscal year, they seized about 21,900
From July of last year to July of this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the amount of fentanyl they seized went down by about 1,800 pounds.
Last month President Donald Trump signed a law introduced by Senator Mark Kelly called the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act (HALT), which classified fentanyl-related substances as a schedule one drug.
However, Angelique Tadeo said more needs to be done to address the side of the issue involving people in order to prevent more deaths.
“Ensuring that NARCAN is available at various locations and with every police officer, and the training that goes into our public servants,” she suggested.
The Tucson Police Department has also been involved in seizing fentanyl. In June they say they were involved in two major drug busts where they seized over 3,500 fentanyl pills.
“We are here. We are hurting. Children are hurting,” Tadeo said about the issue.
——-
Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
