The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Omaha Field Division is kicking off Red Ribbon Week on Friday, the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention awareness campaign.
The nine-day effort runs through October 31 and includes educational presentations and proclamations encouraging people to live drug-free. This year’s theme is “Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Stay Drug Free.”
Red Ribbon Week honors DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered while investigating members of a drug cartel in Mexico. The campaign also supports the DEA’s Fentanyl Free America initiative, which focuses on educating the public about the dangers of fentanyl and other emerging drug threats.
DEA Omaha Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Rafael Mattei says the week is a time to remember Camarena’s sacrifice while discussing the deadly drugs affecting communities across the country.
During the first nine months of 2026, DEA investigators seized more than five million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The DEA warns that just two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, and the drug can be mixed with other substances without a person’s knowledge.
Governors in Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota have signed proclamations recognizing Red Ribbon Week from October 23 through 31.