Rep. Roy (TX-21), joined by 20 of his House colleagues, reintroduced the “Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act” Friday.
The bill would formally designate the Gulf Cartel, Cartel Del Noreste, Cartel de Sinaloa, and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
Rep. Roy had the following to say:
The recent kidnapping of four American citizens clearly illustrates the fact that cartels are no longer just drug-running gangs. They are bold enough to kidnap and kill foreign nationals in broad daylight; there is no limit to the inhumane methods they will use to achieve their ultimate end — profiting off of human suffering.
This most recent atrocity adds to the already massive human toll including 72,000 dead Americans from fentanyl poisoning, more than 1,000 dead migrants along our border, and countless human and sex trafficking victims.
Enough words; it’s time for Congress to act.
It’s long past time to designate these cartels as the terrorists they are and give U.S. authorities the tools needed to take them down. That’s why I started pushing the Trump administration for FTO designations during my first few months in Congress, why I introduced this legislation last Congress, and why I’m introducing it again.
The bill also requires the Department of State to issue a report to Congress within 30 days of enactment on the cartels listed above and any additional cartels that meet the criteria for designation as an FTO. For each additional cartel that meets the criteria of an FTO, the Department of State is required to designate each of those cartels as an FTO within 30 days after the report is submitted to Congress.
Full text of the legislation is available here.
