Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced on Wednesday he has designated Mexican drug cartels, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, as terrorist organizations for their role in smuggling in highly-deadly fentanyl pills and fentanyl-laced drugs.
Abbott also sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris asking them to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations at the federal level.
"Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, and Texans are falling victim to the Mexican cartels that are producing it," said Abbott. "Cartels are terrorists, and it’s time we treated them that way. In fact, more Americans died from fentanyl poisoning in the past year than all terrorist attacks across the globe in the past 100 years. In order to save our country, particularly our next generation, we must do more to get fentanyl off our streets."
I also sent a letter demanding the Biden Admin. classify Mexican drug cartels operating in Texas as terrorist organizations.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 21, 2022
Texas is stepping up to get these gangs & deadly drugs off our streets. pic.twitter.com/nhfeVo2ESm
Fentanyl is killing our communities, & drug cartels are responsible.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 22, 2022
Yesterday, I designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations & directed @TxDPS to target cartel operations.
It's time for Biden to do the same & join the fight to eliminate the scourge of fentanyl. pic.twitter.com/ub2sJCseiL
With Texas' designation, the state's Department of Public Safety will do the following:
- Establish a Mexican Cartel Division within the Texas Fusion Center to collect and analyze intelligence that will enable further apprehension, prosecution, and disruption of these foreign terrorist organizations.
- Identify, arrest, and impede the gangs in Texas that support the drug and human smuggling operations of these foreign terrorist organizations.
- Conduct multi-jurisdictional investigations of foreign terrorist organizations operating in Texas to support criminal prosecutions here and in other States
- Target, seize, and dismantle the infrastructure, assets, vehicles, and buildings used by foreign terrorist organizations to smuggle drugs and people into and throughout Texas.
