Staff Reports
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked Attorney General Merrick Garland if he would endorse the classification of Mexican drug cartels as terrorists to better combat their offenses against Americans. Although Garland didn’t object to the idea, he cautioned that it might result in diplomatic complications with the Mexican government.
GRAHAM: "Would you oppose some of us trying to make [Mexican drug cartels] foreign terrorist organizations?"
GARLAND: "I want to point out, there are diplomatic concerns. We need the assistance of Mexico in this…" pic.twitter.com/DZKNNUX7WE
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 1, 2023
It’s unsurprising that the Mexican government opposes the reclassification, given that a number of officials are suspected of having links to the cartels and profiting from their lucrative drug and human trafficking operations into the United States. As a result, Republican Congressmen Michael Waltz and Dan Crenshaw, both of whom are veterans, introduced a bill in January that would permit the deployment of military force against Mexican cartels.
And why exactly are there diplomatic concerns about taking out Mexican cartels? Very curious to hear the Mexican government’s reservations about this, outside of their corrupt members no longer profiting from and being part of the cartels of course https://t.co/EqvtK1qqV7
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 1, 2023
Trump is absolutely right: Mexican Cartels are paramilitary groups running our Southern Border & defeating the Mexican Army.
That’s why I’ll be introducing Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) legislation to go on the offense with military, cyber, intel & drones. pic.twitter.com/Af1HX1y8cV
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) January 8, 2023
Gut-wrenching opening statement from Rebecca Kiessling, who lost two sons to fentanyl poisoning, at border hearing:
"You talk about children being taken away from their parents. My children were taken away from me…It’s not about race, fentanyl doesn’t care about race." pic.twitter.com/Kgn4rGvgTg
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) February 28, 2023
In a statement, Waltz remarked that the actions of the heavily armed and well-funded Sinola and Jalisco cartels have rendered the situation at the southern border unsustainable for law enforcement personnel. He contended that it’s time to launch an offensive and that the United States was effective in assisting the Colombian government in dismantling cartels in the 1990s, and that it must do so again now.
Crenshaw contributed, “The cartels are actively waging a war against us – causing a crisis at our border, poisoning almost 80,000 Americans with fentanyl every year, and turning Mexico into a failed narco-state. It’s imperative that we directly confront them. Through my legislation, we will be on a war footing with the cartels by granting authorization for the use of military force against them. We cannot permit heavily armed and lethal cartels to destabilize Mexico and smuggle individuals and drugs into the United States. We need to begin treating them as we do ISIS – because that is precisely who they are.”
It’s evident that the Mexican drug cartels pose a significant danger to both American citizens and our national security. The Mexican government’s refusal to classify them as terrorists indicates that they’re unwilling to take the requisite measures to safeguard their citizens or ours. It’s now up to the United States to take a stance and issue a clear signal that we will no longer tolerate these perilous criminals. We must employ every available tool, such as military force, to guarantee that these cartels are halted and held accountable. It’s time for us to reclaim our borders and safeguard our citizens from these merciless criminals.
Source: Townhall
