The American Coalition for Syria and the Syrian American Council announced that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote tomorrow, Tuesday, on the "Captagon 2" bill, as stated by the policy officer of the American Coalition for Syria, Mohammad Alaa Ghanem. Ghanem clarified in a post on the "X" platform that the project was worked on by the American Coalition for Syria and the Syrian American Council, which announced its introduction in July 2023 with bipartisan support from both the Republican and Democratic parties, and was unanimously approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee in November 2023 (44 votes in favor - 0 opposed).
He emphasized that the new bill, which complements the first "Captagon" law approved at the end of 2022, aims to grant the U.S. government new and expanded powers to hold the Syrian regime and Hezbollah accountable, along with their networks and anyone involved in the trafficking, manufacturing, or smuggling of Captagon drugs or benefiting from the proceeds, regardless of nationality.
He noted that this is among other provisions aimed at strengthening and entrenching U.S. policy against the trafficking activities of the Assad regime and its allies concerning this dangerous plague, which was endorsed following advocacy from Syrian American community organizations.
Last February, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the "Anti-Normalization with Bashar Assad's Regime" bill with strong support from both the Republican and Democratic parties. This legislation stipulates that "U.S. policy prohibits any official action to recognize or normalize relations with any Syrian government led by Bashar Assad," citing the regime's ongoing crimes against the Syrian people.
