Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says Mexican drug cartels should be classified as foreign terrorist organizations, which would give the U.S. government more tools and latitude to effectively combat criminal organizations.
In an interview with Fox News, which he also shared on Twitter, Ramaswamy said labeling the drug cartels as terrorist organizations would justify the use of military force.
"If the U.S. Military has one job, it is to protect U.S. soil ... including the southern border, and treating the cartels like terrorists doesn't just mean freezing their assets," he said. "I think it means justified military force to decimate the cartels."
Ramaswamy said he plans to tackle the cartels in "one cycle" of force immediately if he is elected. That way, he said, it would address the fentanyl problem in the U.S. along the southern border. He also said acting quickly would keep the cartels from having time to react.
Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, to designate an organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) if the Secretary finds that the organization is a foreign organization, the organization engages in terrorist activity or terrorism, and the terrorist activity or terrorism of the organization threatens the security of U.S. nationals or national security; a 2019 Judicial Watch white paper said.
The definition of “terrorist activity” in the Immigration and Nationality Act is defined as activity that is unlawful under the laws of the place where it is committed, such as hijacking or sabotage of vehicles; killing, injuring or detaining another individual in order to compel a third party to do or abstain from doing any act as a condition for the release of the individual seized or detained; a violent attack upon an internationally protected person or upon the liberty of such a person; and an assassination. Threats of any of those activities also fall under the umbrella of terrorism.
The process of designating a group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization involves the State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism identifying an organization for designation and creating an “administrative record” for the Secretary, whose office completes the recommendation and notifies Congress; Judicial Watch reported. After a seven-day waiting period, the organization can be designated as a terrorist organization and its name published in a federal registry. The designated organization may seek judicial review of the designation by the Court of Appeals within 30 days of the publication.
The idea of classifying Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations has been considered before. In 2012, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced legislation that would have directed the Secretary of State to so designate the seven largest cartels, but the bill did not advance out of committee.
There have been several examples of kidnappings and assassinations that would qualify as terrorist activity. In February 2018, two Mexican federal agents investigating organized crime activities were kidnapped and subsequently murdered by members of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). In August 2018, congresswoman-elect Norma Rodriguez was kidnapped in Hidalgo, and a month earlier a local mayor named Genero Urbano was kidnapped along the same highway. Mexican cartels have committed hundreds of political assassinations. Between September 2017 and July 2018, 132 political candidates were assassinated in Mexico.
In 2018, Mexican officials seized 1,960 weapons and explosives from suspected cartel associates in Mexico City, Judicial Watch said. Arsenals frequently include fragmentation- and rocket-propelled grenades as well as other military-grade weaponry.
