Texas Gov. Abbott signs order designating Mexican cartels as terrorists

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott on Wednesday signed an executive order designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations in the state.

Abbott announced the executive order during a press conference and roundtable discussion in Midland on border security.

“Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, and Texans are falling victim to the Mexican cartels that are producing it,” said Governor Abbott in a press release.

“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,” he added.

Additionally, the Governor sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris asking for the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, along with other cartels that produce and distribute fentanyl, to be added to the list of foreign terrorist organizations.

“Mexican drug cartels terrorize the United States and its citizens every day, leaving thousands of dead bodies in their wake. Their latest weapons of choice are the millions of tiny pills laced with fentanyl that they pour across our southern border,” Abbott wrote in the letter.

Texas has seen an 89% increase in fentanyl-related deaths reported in 2021 compared to 2020. According to the Governor’s office, the drug is being trafficked into Texas through the U.S.-Mexico border by Mexcian cartels, which are “which are disguising the pills to look like legitimate prescription drugs and even candy to target children.”

Among his efforts to curb the distribution of fentanyl, Governor Abbott directed Texas law enforcement agencies to identify Texas gangs that support Mexican drug cartels and disrupt their operations.