The bill will be introduced in the next few days and promotes declaring these cartels as a “foreign terrorist organization” and intends to authorize the U.S. Army to intervene against these organizations ‘wherever they are.’
(WASHINGTON D.C. – Times Media Mexico) – The U.S. Republicans are ready to declare drug cartels as terrorist groups. On Wednesday, they took another step by preparing and soon introducing a bill that advocates that designation and authorizes the U.S. Army to intervene.
“They have terrorized Americans for decades. We will destroy their business model and way of life because our national security depends on taking decisive action.” Legislators Lindsey Graham and John Neely Kennedy said in a press conference.
The bill will be introduced soon and promotes declaring these cartels a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) to activate more mechanisms against them. The senators also intend to authorize the U.S. Army to intervene against these organizations “wherever they are.”
“We hope to do it in collaboration with the countries where they are, but if we have to do it on our own, we will do it alone,” Graham said to the reporters.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced last December that in 2022 it seized 379 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl, “enough to kill all U.S. citizens.”
Graham has branded Mexico a “narco-terrorist state” and told Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador: “Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction coming from your country. You are allowing safe havens for these groups to operate with impunity. We ask you to help us.” Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s president, sees the designation pursued as violating its sovereignty because it would authorize the U.S. military to fight these organizations.
The United States already sanctions Mexican cartels, but Democrat Joe Biden’s administration is not ruling out, for now, the possibility of going further and declaring them as terrorist organizations.
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