The attorneys general for 21 states have urged the Biden administration to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) under federal law, pointing to the rising fentanyl crisis.
In a letter (pdf) to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the coalition of attorneys general—led by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican—said that declaring Mexican drug cartels as FTOs will aid in freeing up resources needed to confront the deadly opioid crisis with the “seriousness it deserves.”
The attorneys general pointed to data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) which states that in the 12-month period ending in October 2021, more than 105,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, with almost two-thirds of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl….