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Lawmaker Renews Bill Labeling Mexican Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Groups

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill Jan. 31 that would direct the State Department to designate four Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

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“An FTO designation would provide the federal government with more authorities to combat these cartels, including additional investigative and intelligence resources, the ability to apply stiffer penalties on FTO affiliates, revoking visas of FTO members in the U.S., and freezing FTO assets in U.S. financial institutions,” a Roy press release says.

Roy’s Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act, which was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, would apply to the Gulf Cartel, the Cartel Del Noreste, the Cartel de Sinaloa, and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion. It would codify into law an executive order that President Donald Trump signed Jan. 20 (see 2501210023), ensuring the FTO designations "can’t be undone by a future administration," Roy said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned various people and companies associated with the Gulf (see 2411260016), Sinaloa (see 2407010022 and 2305090022) and Nueva Generacion (see 2409100054 and 2411190021) cartels.