President Trump says he is working on designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorists.

File photo of Mexican soldiers.  Diego Fernández

President Trump says he is working on designating Mexican drug cartels as terror groups after a massacre that killed an American family. Reuters. President Trump said the process has been going for three months but that it takes awhile to get it approved. Once a group is a designated terror group it becomes illegal for Americans to work with that group, illegal for members to enter the United States and requires financial institutions to block and report their money. Mexico did not comment on the statement but it will likely come as a shock to them because as early as yesterday Mexico's Foreign Minister said he did not expect America to declare drug cartels terror groups. It is unclear if any further action will be taken against the cartels for their role in the massacre that killed 9 women and children. 

My Comment:

The Mexican Drug War stories left the media as soon as they came to the forefront which should not have been surprising. Even before the current media environment the media showed little interest in what happens south of the US border. The twin stories of the LeBaron massacre and the battle of Culiacán brought the issue to the public consciousness for the first time in recent memory but it faded just as quickly due to the impeachment drama. 

It really should not have. Both of those stories were huge. In the first a family of American citizens were gunned down. Women and children were killed and it was the cartels that were responsible. The attack generated a huge amount of outrage and was a top story before it was dropped. 

And the Battle of Culiacan was an even bigger story. In that battle Mexican troops arrested two of the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel. They had to let both of them go because the Mexican forces were outgunned and outnumbered by the cartel which probably would have killed all of them if they hadn't surrendered. 

In the wake of these two events people were calling on something to be done. The Cartels were obviously getting extremely powerful and didn't care at all about who they killed. In the past they would leave Americans alone but now it seems anyone is fair game. 

The cartels are a huge threat to America. Not only are they a major source of the drug trafficking, and the massive murder rate that comes with that business, they are also branching out into other businesses. More than anything else they are responsible for much of the human trafficking and smuggling that comes into the United States. 

I've also long worried that the kind of corruption and graft caused by the cartels in Mexico could cross the border as well. I haven't seen much proof of it but a lot of people, especially in border states, say that corruption is already hear. That's a threat to American democracy if I have ever seen one.

Even more concerning is that the current Mexican government seems to want to do nothing about the devastating war that is happening in their country. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Almo) has refused to change his peace plan with the cartels where he mostly leaves them alone and focuses on economic issues. Even though I kinda like Almo, this is a path that is not going to work.

So is designating the cartels as terror groups the right move? I think so. Though their main motivation is profit, not ideology or religion, their tactics certainly qualify for terrorism. Only ISIS has ever exceeded the reputation of the cartels for brutality and they certainly use fear as a weapon. Legally calling them terrorists will also help fight them financially and help keep them out of our country. 

It won't be the end all be all though and at this point it's like placing a band-aid on a bullet wound. The cartels are so rich, powerful and depraved that simply calling them terrorists won't do much. It might make things a bit more difficult for them but it's not like it's going to stop drug dealing and human trafficking. 

So what would work? A sustained military campaign. That's how we beat ISIS. We blew up their oil fields, targeted their leadership and killed almost all of their foot soldiers. Mexico has no stomach for such a campaign and military action against the cartels seems to be off the table. But I can't see how else we can finally rid ourselves of this menace from across the border...