The Republican Governor of Texas Greg Abbott has put Democrat President Joe Biden on notice by issuing an executive order to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
Gov. Abbott instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to take immediate action to keep Texans safe in the growing national fentanyl crisis.
Deadly fentanyl has been flooding American communities as criminals continue to traffic drugs across the porous U.S. Southern Border.
“Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, and Texans are falling victim to the Mexican cartels that are producing it,” Abbott said.
“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 order to save our country, particularly our next generation, we must do more to get fentanyl off our streets.”
Abbott also sent a letter to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris requesting federal terrorist classifications for the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The governor suggested that other cartels producing and distributing deadly fentanyl should also get the same classification.
Fentanyl is killing our communities, & drug cartels are responsible.
Yesterday, I designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations & directed @TxDPS to target cartel operations.
It's time for Biden to do the same & join the fight to eliminate the scourge of fentanyl. pic.twitter.com/ub2sJCseiL
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 22, 2022
While signing the executive order, Abbott was joined by DPS Director Steve McCraw, DPS Regional Director West Texas Region Jose Sanchez, Midland County Judge Terry Johnson, Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis, Midland County Sheriff Chief Deputy Benny Matlock, Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke, Midland Police Chief Seth Herman, and Midland Memorial Hospital District Police Chief Steve McNeill.
WATCH:
With Gov. Greg Abbott declaring drug cartels as terrorists, this will situate local, state, and federal law enforcement in "very clear focus that this is now their priority," Newsmax border correspondent Jaeson Jones reports. pic.twitter.com/gVUPUKQbeb
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) September 22, 2022
Governor Abbott also directed DPS and law enforcement agencies to identify Texas gangs that support Mexican drug cartels and seize their assets.
He believes this will disrupt the cartel networks operating in Texas communities who have poisoned thousands of Texans unwittingly with counterfeit pills laced with the deadly synthetic opioid.
With Mexican drug cartels disguising fentanyl as counterfeit pills and targeting children with “rainbow fentanyl” pills, Abbott told Biden that immediate decisive action is needed to combat this deadly crisis impacting the nation.
Yesterday, the governor sent a letter to state agency leaders directing them to ramp up efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis by preparing for the next legislative session with statutory changes, budget priorities, and other initiatives that will enhance Texas’s ability to combat fentanyl deaths across the state.
The letter further directs state agencies to coordinate efforts to raise awareness of fentanyl’s lethality and prevalence.
See the letter to Joe Biden here.
Texas Army National Guardsmen search for cartel scouts along the Rio Grande.
Cartels, smugglers, & human traffickers are profiting off Biden’s dangerous open border policies.
While Biden continues to FAIL, Texas continues to step up to secure our border. pic.twitter.com/U0KqJ5ql4d
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 23, 2022
