By Rob Shaul
Former US Attorney General Bill Barr urged the US to declare certain Mexican drug cartels as official “Terrorist Organization” in a March 2, 2023 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. In his argument, Barr cited the 100,000+ deaths in America annually caused by opioid overdoses.
Then, on March 8, 2023, GOP Senators Roger Marshall and Rick Scott reintroduced legislation designating Mexican drug cartels as “terrorist organizations” following the kidnappings and murder of two Americans seeking medical care in Mexico in March.
The Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act would designate certain Mexican cartels as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” giving U.S. law enforcement additional power to fight back against cartel violence. It would also criminalize the act of helping cartel members enter the U.S., and allow the Treasury secretary to freeze assets of cartels and block monetary transactions.
What would be the impact to US military, SOF, and Federal and Local law enforcement?
- SOF, FBI HRT, DEA FAST, and BORTAC raids into Mexico?
- Drone coverage and attacks? Afghanistan-style presence and escalation?
- Significant reduction/tightening of illegal immigration?
- How would the cartels retaliate?
- Cartel strikes on US soil?
- Targeting US tourists?
- Strikes agains US car factories and other manufacturing on Mexico soil?
We’re interested in the thoughts, opinions, predictions and feedback from MTI members who would be affected if this came to pass.