The largest sheriff’s associations in the country called for the eradication of Mexican drug cartels and for the public to pressure their elected officials to do something about it. The groups called for action to start against the two most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico. The call for action by the sheriffs comes follows 21 state attorneys general called for cartels to be designated as terrorist organizations.
In a joint statement from the National Sheriff’s Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, Western States Sheriffs’ Association, Southwestern Border Sheriffs’ Coalition, and Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition, the groups claimed that the two main drivers of illicit drugs leading to overdoses and violence into the U.S. are Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra shared the letter on social media while asking for support in forcing Mexico to dismantle cartels.
Please read the following press release from our nation’s Sheriffs and call upon your federal elected officials to change our foreign policy and force the Mexican government to dismantle these drug cartels that are operating with impunity. @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/Cd3s9MLkLA
— Sheriff Eddie Guerra (@SheriffGuerra) February 10, 2023
In their statement, the sheriff’s organizations pointed to the casualty count from September 11, 2001, where “terrorists killed 2,977 innocent people.” As a result of that attack, the response from the U.S. “included declaring war on terrorism and bringing justice to the victims of this unthinkable tragedy by holding terrorists and terrorist countries accountable.”
However, noting that in a 12-month period, there were 107,000 overdose deaths — most tied to fentanyl brought by those two cartels — and the U.S. had done little in response.
“This crisis has caused 35 more times the amount of death to American citizens in a one-year period than was inflicted upon the U.S. on September 11th by Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden,” the sheriffs stated.
The harsh words from the top law local law enforcement officials in the country come just days after 21 state attorneys general filed a letter asking for U.S. President Joseph Biden to designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.