Houthis follow al-Assad’s footsteps: Funding warfare through the Captagon trade
The gradual shift of the Captagon trade from Syria to Yemen is opening up new financial avenues for the Iran-backed Houthi movement, enabling them to fund missiles and ammunition used against Israel and its allies.
The decline of Bashar al-Assad’s grip on Syria did not bring an end to the region’s narcotics industry. Denials of Syrian government involvement did little to stop Captagon’s production or demand. Now, that void is being exploited by the Houthis — a group that rarely misses a profitable opportunity.
In an analysis published by The National Interest, senior analysts Natalie Ecanow and Bridget Tomé from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies assert that the Houthis, long involved in cultivating and selling qat (a stimulant widely consumed in Yemen), are now turning to the illegal Captagon trade — the same trade that long funded the al-Assad regime.
According to the report, the Houthis have initiated Captagon production inside Yemen. This shift has been confirmed by the internationally recognized Yemeni authorities. In July, 1.5 million pills of Captagon originating from Houthi-controlled areas and bound for Saudi Arabia were seized, along with tens of thousands more in scattered operations.
With prices ranging from $6 to $27 per pill in Saudi Arabia, this trade yields vast profits. The porous and extensive Yemeni-Saudi border offers the Houthis access to a broad market for Captagon and other narcotics. These revenues are then used to acquire missiles and weaponry targeting Israel, regional allies, and even forward U.S. positions.
Evidence now suggests that Yemen may be on its way to becoming a new hub for Captagon manufacturing. Though seizures remain low compared to other Middle Eastern countries, the Houthis are aggressively expanding their market share.
Reports from 2023 indicated that the group had secured the materials necessary to build a production facility. By June 2025, Major General Mutahar al-Shoaibi, the police chief of Aden, publicly confirmed that the Houthis had set up a manufacturing site. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani claimed this occurred with support from Iran.
Captagon production is clearly booming, and the United States continues to play a critical role in curbing this illicit industry. The trade is no longer confined to the Middle East. One of the largest seizures ever occurred in Italy in 2020, when authorities confiscated 84 million pills valued at $1.1 billion.
While the drug has not yet reached U.S. shores, international drug trafficking networks continue to link the Middle East to the West — making future distribution in the U.S. plausible. In June, Emirati authorities seized 131 kilograms of unidentified drugs and psychotropics smuggled in from Canada via Spain.
Prior to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the U.S. had made steady progress in tackling the Captagon trade. Under President Joe Biden, multiple Captagon-related sanctions were imposed, and a congressionally mandated strategy was adopted to “disrupt and dismantle” al-Assad-linked narcotics networks. However, the war’s escalation has slowed those efforts. The U.S. Treasury announced limited new sanctions in October 2024.
The fall of al-Assad does not signal the end of the crisis. Despite pledges by interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa to “cleanse” Syria, Captagon continues to flow into Jordan and the Gulf. Trump’s administration welcomed Syria’s reintegration into the international community post-Assad and lifted select sanctions on June 30, while maintaining penalties against al-Assad loyalists and drug traffickers. Yet, passive compliance with outdated measures is inadequate.
Recent seizures in Yemen indicate that Captagon’s rise and fall is not solely tied to al-Assad. Washington must monitor the emergence of new production hubs in Yemen and remain vigilant of active trafficking routes in Syria and Lebanon.
The analysts conclude that the Captagon trade will persist — regardless of which actors dominate it — unless Washington updates and rigorously enforces its counter-narcotics strategy.
