On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order designating Mexican drug cartels “terrorist organizations” and instructing the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to take immediate action to keep Texans safe amid the growing national fentanyl crisis.
Gov. Abbott made the announcement during a press conference at a border security roundtable discussion in Midland, Texas, with members of law enforcement. The governor also sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris requesting federal terrorist classifications for the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, as well as other cartels producing and distributing deadly fentanyl.
In the announcement, Abbott said:
Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, and Texans are falling victim to the Mexican cartels that are producing it. 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.
Gov. Abbott’s executive order also directed DPS and law enforcement agencies to identify Texas gangs that support Mexican drug cartels and seize their assets in order to disrupt the networks operating in Texas communities, as thousands of Texans have been poisoned unwittingly by counterfeit pills laced with the deadly synthetic opioid.
In the letter to Biden and Harris, Abbott expressed clearly why the federal government must take immediate action and declare that the Mexican Cartels are terrorist organizations:
Mexican drug cartels terrorize the United States and its citizens every day, leaving thousands of dead bodies in their wake. Their latest weapons of choice are the millions of tiny pills laced with fentanyl that they pour across our southern border. As a result, it is necessary, now more than ever, for you to designate the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and any similarly situated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This move would help us fight back against these terrorists and disrupt their deadly attacks on America.
Wednesday’s declaration from Abbott was praised by conservatives across the nation, as they think this was a necessary step to protect Texans and Americans, as well as a step toward the governor declaring an invasion at the southern border.
The Center Square reported that Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith, whose county was the first to declare a disaster and an invasion, said he “wholeheartedly supports” Abbott’s designation of cartels as terrorists:
The cartels have no regard for human life and have brought death and destruction into the state of Texas and are responsible for the poisoning of thousands of Americans. The danger they pose to America is REAL and touches every state in the Union. This is a necessary step in securing the Texas border and protecting the lives of Texans.
Greg Sindelar, CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, also approved of the governor’s order:
Mexican drug cartels have flooded Texas and the nation with untold amounts of lethal drugs, particularly fentanyl, that have cost the lives of countless Americans. The scourge is so widespread and intentional it can only be properly viewed as an attack on communities across the nation. This action to seize cartel assets and upset operations will undoubtedly save lives and make Texas safer.
Citizens for Renewing America (CRA), an Americanist advocacy group, supports Abbott’s executive order as well, but won’t be satisfied until an invasion is declared by the southern border states. “Cartel power derives from both their brutality AND their access to billions of dollars via human smuggling, illicit drugs, and other black market activities. Until an invasion is declared, and the border completely secured, there won’t be any significant degradation of cartel influence and power. I hope that this is a strong first step towards declaring an invasion at some point in the near future,” said Wade Miller, CRA’s executive director.
There are now 29 Texas counties that have declared an invasion and are asking Gov. Abbott to do the same. All of those counties are in full support of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, but need more help from Texas and the federal government to stop the invasion at the border, illegal crossings, and crime by paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels.
Abbott has the authority as the commander in chief of Texas’ military forces to “suppress insurrections and to repel invasions,” per Article IV, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution. It’s time for him to declare and repel the invasion at the Mexican border.
As for Biden, who recently spoke out of turn about sending troops to Taiwan, he should keep his focus here at home and send troops to protect our borders. Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution clearly stipulates that the federal government “shall protect” each of the states “against invasion,” which the situation at the southern border clearly is.
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