Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., has reintroduced a trio of bills targeting Mexican drug cartels, amid record levels of illegal immigration and deadly trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs over the porous southern border.
"Recent cartel-related violence underscores the need for the U.S. to impose a maximum pressure campaign against cartels and the corrupt officials who help these criminals wreak havoc on the border," Gallagher wrote in a statement. "From crippling sanctions and visa restrictions to more resources to combat arms trafficking, these bills will give the federal government every tool it needs to go after cartels."
Former President Donald Trump has released a 2024 campaign plan to deploy military assets to take out Mexican drug cartels, and Gallagher's trio of bills seeks to move legislation in this Congress, as violent activity in Mexico has been increasing.
- Significant Transnational Criminal Organization Designation Act.
- Illicit Arms Trafficking Security Enforcement Act.
- Supporting Mexico Against Corruption Act.
The first bill will block entry into the U.S. for those with ties to cartels and levy sanctions against them, including the Treasury seizing assets from them. Also, they could be imprisoned up to 20 years.
The second bill establishes a Border Enforcement Security Task Force unit under the Department of Homeland Security "to investigate transnational criminal organization arms smuggling across the international border between the United States and Mexico."
And the third bill sanctions current and former Mexican government officials "responsible for acts of significant corruption."