As the U.S. government contemplates a ban on menthol cigarettes, concerns are being raised about the potential creation of a black market for these products, which could be exploited by Mexican drug cartels. Several members of Congress expressed these worries in a letter to President Biden, indicating that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has already initiated cigarette smuggling operations.
Congresswoman Carol D. Miller of the U.S. Congress stated in the letter, "The emergence of new funding sources via tobacco sales makes it necessary to reconsider the effects that a menthol ban would have on criminal cartel financing". She further added, "Federal rules, such as the proposed menthol and flavored cigar ban, could provide further financial resources to CJNG and other criminal organizations that would fuel their already brutal war against the United States". Miller concluded with an urgent note: "The American people can’t afford for the cartels to grow more powerful" and "We’ve already lost too much."
The letter also highlights how Mexican drug cartels, major suppliers of illicit drugs to the U.S., are believed to be principal traffickers of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. However, their criminal activities extend beyond drug trafficking. The Jalisco Cartel specifically is seeking to expand its operations in the United States and diversify its illicit activities, including but not limited to cigarette smuggling.
According to Borderland Beat, this concern arises at a critical time when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is finalizing a review concerning cigarettes. Observers familiar with cartel activities believe that while banning menthol cigarettes may be well-intentioned, it could inadvertently benefit drug cartels like CJNG.
The regulated menthol cigarette market in the U.S., valued at $30 billion, coupled with existing advanced networks utilized by drug cartels for distributing illicit substances in the U.S., presents an opportunity for these organizations should menthol cigarettes be outlawed. The CJNG, identified by the Department of Justice as one of the five most dangerous transnational crime organizations globally, is currently the best-armed cartel in Mexico, as per Borderland Beat.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reports that the Jalisco Cartel is currently striving to expand and consolidate its power both domestically and internationally. It is recognized as a highly violent criminal organization.
Anne Milgram, the administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration, states that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has over 18,800 members, associates, facilitators, and brokers worldwide and operates in 21 out of 32 states in Mexico. The cartel is widely known as a significant fentanyl trafficking organization.
The congress members who penned the letter to President Biden warning him about the potential effects banning menthol cigarettes could have on cartel operations include Carol D. Miller, Dan Crenshaw, Brian Babin, Andy Biggs, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Juan Ciscomani, Anthony D'Esposito, August Pfluger and Michael Waltz.
