The two Americans who were killed by Mexican cartels on Thursday, according to the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, demonstrate how “emboldened” the cartels have become during the Biden administration.
After entering the border city of Matamoros on Friday, four Americans were reportedly kidnapped in a drug cartel gunfight last week, according to the authorities. The two survivors have been brought back to the United States and are receiving medical attention. Two of the four were slain.
Chairman Mark Green, R-Tennessee, described the kidnappings as “a horrific peek into how Americans can swiftly fall victim to cartel brutality and how emboldened the cartels are under the Biden administration” as more information about the incident came to light.
The cartels continue to take advantage of the weak stance that the Biden administration has adopted with its risky border security measures, he said, even though this blatant attack took place on the Mexican side of the border, only a few miles from U.S. property.
Republicans have regularly charged that the government has expanded migrant releases into the interior while rolling back Trump-era border security measures in an effort to foster cartel activity. They have linked the policies to the enormous migrant influx that has rocked the United States since Biden assumed office, with more than 2.3 million interactions with migrants in just FY 2022.
In the statement, Green claimed that cartels “have mastered how to use Biden and Mayorkas’ failed border policies to their advantage” in the U.S. and Mexico. She cited the arrest of 166 people on the terror watchlist between ports of entry and the deaths of Americans caused by fentanyl, which is primarily trafficked along the U.S. land border.
The audacious actions of cartels show that they are no longer afraid of us, he claimed.
The administration, on the other hand, has disputed the claim that it is not being aggressive enough against cartels and the border in general. Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, mentioned a number of sanctions the government has imposed on several cartel organizations and officials on Tuesday. These measures include some that the Treasury Department announced last month.
The disruption of international criminal groups, such as Mexican drug cartels and people smugglers, has been the administration’s main priority, according to Jean-Pierre.
She continued, “We remain dedicated to using all of our resources and efforts to combat them.
In addition, officials have cited enhanced collaboration with Mexico, over 8,000 arrests in a last year’s anti-smuggling campaign, and record DHS budget that, according to the administration, enabled the hiring of over 23,000 border guards. Additionally, it has urged Republicans to support additional funds and pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
In response to the kidnappings, the Justice Department has also committed to take action.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a statement that “the DEA and the FBI are doing everything possible to deconstruct, disrupt, and eventually prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the whole networks on which they rely.
