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White House refuses to classify drug cartels as terrorist organizations

Karine Jean-Pierre assured that the measures currently being employed are more than sufficient to address the problem.

Biden en la frontera. El Paso (Texas)

(@POTUS / Twitter)

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

This Wednesday, the White House reaffirmed its position of refusing to classify drug cartels as terrorist organizations. During a press conference, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre conveyed that the Biden administration would not support the Republican initiative calling for legislation that would allow the U.S. military to directly address the problems posed by drug cartels:

Look, designating these cartels as FTOs [foreign terrorist organizations] would not grant us any additional authorities that we don’t really have at this time.  So the United States has powerful sanctions authorities specifically designated to combat narcotics-trafficking organizations and the individuals and entities that enable them.  So we have not been afraid to use them. 

According to the White House spokeswoman, the federal administration is already implementing a series of actions that directly involve the Treasury Department and that, for them, are more than sufficient to deal with drug trafficking organizations:

In the last few months alone, Treasury has announced a series of actions against cartels that are a danger to the public safety. And we have also taken action that further enables Treasury to sanction foreign persons who knowingly receive property [that] constitutes so much of the proceeds derived from illicit drug trafficking activities. And this means that drug traffickers can no longer use family or friends to hide their assets from the reach of the U.S. government. So, again, we don’t believe that this will grant us any additional authorities. And so I will leave it there.

Republicans call for strong measures

Karine Jean-Pierre's statements were a direct response to the measures proposed by some Republicans following news of the kidnapping of four Americans and the subsequent murder of two of them. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham asserted that "this administration has done nothing about" the problem and declared his intention to introduce a bill that would "set the stage" for U.S. military force to intervene in Mexico.

According to a recent report by the Washington Times, Graham has joined with Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, and together they plan to introduce a bill this week that would classify nine Mexican gangs as terrorist organizations and therefore allow the use of military force against them. Graham said of the need to introduce a such a law:

Drug cartels in Mexico have been terrorizing Americans for decades. We are going to unleash the fury and might of the United States against these cartels. We're going to destroy their business model and their lifestyle because our national security and the security of the United States as a whole depends on us taking decisive action.
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