Sanction Mexican Officials Until They're Tougher on Cartels, Republicans Say
The Biden administration should better use sanctions to convince the Mexican government to take stronger actions against drug cartels, Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote in a June 21 letter to the Treasury and State departments. The lawmakers, led by Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the committee’s top Republican, said Mexico has turned a “blind eye” toward its cartels, and the Biden administration should sanction state and local Mexican officials “who directly support or enable" them.
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Those sanctions would impose “political pressure on the Mexican government for its refusal to take action,” and should remain in effect until Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s administration “resumes support for joint operations, increases intelligence sharing, and escalates pressure against the cartels and their enablers in government,” the letter said. “Accommodation alone has failed to spur cooperation, so it is time to use all diplomatic tools at the Executive Branch’s disposal.” The Treasury and State departments didn’t comment.