Federal Law Enforcement Tells Senators Cartels Are Engaging in Sophisticated Terrorism
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on how best to protect law enforcement officers and everyday Americans from the dangers of international drug cartels. President Trump designated the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) on his first day in office.
The hearing was titled, “The Thin Blue Line Protecting America from the Cartels.”
Appearing as witnesses were Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division special agent in charge Matthew Allen, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso special agent in charge Jason Stevens, and FBI assistant director of the criminal investigative division Jose Perez.
The witnesses told senators that cartels are engaged in sophisticated terrorism with the cartels having a foothold on U.S. soil.
"Cartels recently designated as foreign terrorist organizations have existed for decades – and as such have built incredibly sophisticated methods of trafficking illicit drugs, laundering profits, and conducting their criminal enterprise throughout the world," said HSI’s Stevens.
That position was echoed by DEA’s Allen.
“This is who we’re up against, paramilitary cartel with global reach, willing to kill families and surveil U.S. personnel on our own soil. This isn’t just crime; it’s terror,” said Allen, who pointed out that a mural of CJNG Cartel leader “El Mencho” was painted inside a stash site in Los Angeles.
He added that the cartels have at times targeted law enforcement.
“In my 22 years-plus in the DEA in the Los Angeles area, and in other areas of the world, I’ve experienced several instances of cartels and criminal organizations surveilling our people, both in Mexico and the United States… I’ve personally lost several friends on this job – two of them, very close friends of mine. It’s a dangerous job,” said Allen.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s Perez noted that the foreign terrorist designation has been a “valuable tool” in law enforcement’s fight against the cartels.
“Since the Executive Order was signed, we’ve made over 500 gang-related arrests. We have also expanded our watchlisting capabilities to now include cartel and gang members from newly designated FTOs,” said Perez, who noted that the FBI and DEA Atlanta offices recently made the largest seizure of fentanyl in Georgia history.
HSI’s Stevens also praised the expansion of law enforcement tools under the executive order.
“This designation allows us to treat them like such [terrorist groups] and to act decisively to be able to freeze their assets, cut off finances, disrupt their logistics, and prosecute both foreign nationals and U.S. citizens who provide them with material support,” stated Stevens.