The governor of Texas, Gregg Abbott, on Thursday asked US President Joe Biden to designate as “terrorist organizations” the Mexican drug trafficking cartels.
“As Governor of Texas, I urge you to take immediate action to combat the dangerous and deadly Mexican drug cartels. These cartels bring terror to our communities ”, writes the governor in the letter.
He said that these Mexican drug cartels are “foreign terrorist organizations,” and it is time for the federal government to designate them as such. “
He asked the federal government to secure the border and defend the nation from foreign threats.
“The designation of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations under Section 219 of the Gid Immigration Nationality Act, 8 U.SC 5 1189, will reinforce much-needed tools to secure the border and protect us from these dangerous drug cartels ”.
He said that major Mexican drug cartels such as Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel can easily qualify as foreign terrorist organizations, as they engage in terrorist activities such as kidnapping, murder, and endangering lives.
He argued that last year an American was kidnapped by the Sinaloa Cartel, that the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel tried to assassinate the Secretary of Public Security of Mexico City and that a journalist who was doing his job was beheaded by these organizations.
He added that these drug cartels also traffic narcotics and illegal weapons to the United States.
