Abbott Wants Mexican Drug Cartels to be Designated As Foreign Terrorists

As the influx of migrants continues at the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, asking to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in the country.

The Texas governor noted that migrants, including unaccompanied children, had fallen victim to these Mexican drug cartels, resulting in violence, coercion, and human trafficking instances.

Mexican Drug Cartels as 'Foreign Terrorist'

According to KXAN, Greg Abbott, in his letter, urged Biden and Harris to immediately take action in combatting the dangerous and deadly Mexican drug cartels.

Abbott emphasized the terror that the cartels brought to the U.S. communities. The Texas governor mentioned that drug cartels smuggle narcotics and weapons in the U.S. in order to fund their illegal enterprises.

Abbott also pointed out that they force women and children into human and sex trafficking, "enriching themselves on the misery and enslavement of immigrants."

"They murder innocent people, including women and children. These Mexican drug cartels are foreign terrorist organizations, and it is time for the federal government to designate them as such," the Texas governor noted.

Abbott also included background on the activity of the Mexican drug cartels in the letter. He noted that drug cartels' activity meets the three criteria for terrorist organization designation listed under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

According to Abbott, Mexican drug cartels are foreign organizations that regularly engage in terrorist activities, including threatening the security of U.S. nationals or the country's national security.

The Texas governor noted that designating these drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations would give the Biden administration new ways of fighting back.

"Providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization is a federal crime of extraterritorial jurisdiction, punishable in some cases by life imprisonment," Abbott noted.

The Texas governor added that criminal sentences for drug traffickers who fund foreign terrorist organizations are significantly longer.

Abbott's latest letter is the fourth letter sent by the Texas governor to the Biden administration, asking them to address the problems at the southern border.

'Operation Lone Star' in Texas

Abbott also mentioned the launching of Operation Lone Star in the state. It is an operation focusing on battling against illegal activity at the border.

So far, the operation led to the arrest of some 800 individuals and the seizure of more than 3,800 pounds of marijuana.

Greg Abbott noted that the trafficking operations bring dangerous contraband into the communities. He said these illegal activities also fund the Mexican drug cartels, enabling them to continue to terrorize innocent lives.

The Texas governor further noted that these Mexican drug cartels fueled the ongoing crisis at the border by exploiting the border policies of the U.S.

He said these drug cartels also had increased their power and wealth at the expense of innocent lives that get in their way.

Abbott emphasized that the sooner the government designates these Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, the sooner U.S. can secure not only the border but also the lives of its people, Spectrum News reported.

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