Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has been chosen by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to lead a task force created to combat Mexican cartels and the fentanyl trade, Crenshaw announced July 6 in a release from his office.
“The cartels have operational control over our southern border, facilitate and take advantage of our immigration crisis, and are killing tens of thousands of Americans every year with fentanyl," Crenshaw said in the release. "Until now, Congress has not taken this threat seriously nor have we shown the American people that we have a plan to deal with these transnational criminal organizations."
"This task force will rectify that by fully investigating cartel activity, producing policy recommendations, educating the American public, and bringing legislation to the House floor to wholistically target the drug cartels so they can no longer threaten our safety and sovereignty," Crenshaw added. "I applaud Speaker McCarthy for recognizing the severity of this issue and thank him for the opportunity to lead this task force.”
Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) was also appointed to the task force, Gila Valley Central reported.
“From spike in crime to fentanyl overdoses, we see the dangerous effects of cartel activity at the southern border every day in my district," he said in the report. "This task force reflects the concerted effort that the House Majority is making to fight against cartel activity and make our country a safer place for all.” The report said that the new task force will collaborate with the appropriate jurisdictional committees to create legislation aimed at preventing operations by cartels and other transnational criminal groups.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas designated the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations last year due to the growing fentanyl crisis,
“Fentanyl is a clandestine killer,” he wrote in a statement, which called for more action to be taken to remove fentanyl from communities. “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 April, Javed Ali, associate professor at the University of Michigan, argued that the cartels should be designated as terrorist organizations, according to CBS News. He said the U.S. was not using "all the tools we have" to combat the cartels, specifically the fentanyl crisis.
CBS reported that in order for an organization to be considered a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), it must be located outside of the country, involved in acts of terrorism and pose a threat to national security. An FTO designation would open the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on foreign governments and allow charges to be filed against those providing material support. The designation significantly simplifies the process of indicting individuals on lesser charges if they are associated with a terrorist organization, the report stated.
Crenshaw has introduced multiple pieces of legislation to battle drug cartels, such as an Authorization for Use of Military Force and the Declaring War on the Cartels Act, the release added.
Other members of the task force include Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Brian Babin (R-TX), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Mike Johnson (R-LA), Carol Miller (R-WV), Chip Roy (R-TX), Michael Waltz (R-FL), August Pfluger (R-TX), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) and Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY).
