WHITE HOUSE WON’T LABEL DRUG CARTELS AS TERRORISTS ~ March 17, 2023

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(RepublicanReport.org) – Terrorism is defined as the act of using violence to create fear in a population to achieve a political goal. Terrorist organizations are groups of people using those same tactics. The US Department of State keeps a list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) it designates as such. The department stated that these types of designations help the US in the fight against terror.

On March 8, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if President Joe Biden would consider designating Mexican cartels as FTOs, noting Republicans were calling for the move. She responded that even if the State Department was to add the cartels to the FTO list, that would give the government any additional resources they aren’t already using to combat the problem.

White House Rules Out Designating Mexican Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizationshttps://t.co/z0U9flVDPT

— AmericanWoman_USA (@AmericanwomanU1) March 9, 2023

Just the News reported that many GOP members were calling for the designation, including Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and John Kennedy (LA). In response to the four Americans who were recently kidnapped in Mexico, where two of them lost their lives, the lawmakers were introducing legislation to name nine Mexican gangs as FTOs. Graham said he wants to “unleash the fury and might” of the US upon the criminal entities.

The Washington Times reported that the measure, if passed, would also give the US permission to use military force in Mexico to take them down. It also noted that the current administration is hesitant to use harsher means against the cartels, fearing opposition from the Mexican government.

Jean-Pierre and the Biden Administration seem to have another idea to address the issue. The press secretary said during the briefing that the US has earmarked sanctioning power to fight “narcotics trafficking organizations” and any other people or groups that support them. In fact, she said the administration has already used that avenue against the cartels who are dangerous to the public.