[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1048 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1048
To designate Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal
organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and recognizing the
threats those organizations pose to the people of the United States as
terrorism, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 29, 2023
Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Hawley, Mr.
Daines, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Braun) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal
organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and recognizing the
threats those organizations pose to the people of the United States as
terrorism, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ending the Notorious, Aggressive,
and Remorseless Criminal Organizations and Syndicates Act of 2023'' or
the ``Ending the NARCOS Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The national security of the United States, along with
the health and safety of the citizens of the United States, is
under attack by Mexican cartels and other transnational
criminal organizations that engage in acts of terrorism to
exploit the borders of the United States and further their
unlawful business of producing and importing illicitly
manufactured fentanyl, a substance that kills hundreds of
thousands of people in the United States each year,
methamphetamine, and other controlled substances.
(2) Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times
stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and
some fentanyl-related substances can have even greater potency.
(3) Although pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by
doctors to treat severe pain, illicitly manufactured fentanyl
and fentanyl-related substances are created using precursor
chemicals that are predominantly imported from China and
distributed through illegal drug markets, most commonly by
Mexican cartels across the southern border.
(4) According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, nearly 110,000 people in the United States died
during fiscal year 2022 from drug overdoses.
(5) Approximately 66 percent of those deaths in fiscal year
2022 related to illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
(6) In December 2022, the Washington Post reported that,
from 2019 to 2021, fatal fentanyl overdoses surged 94 percent
and an estimated 196 people in the United States are now dying
each day from the drug, which is the equivalent of a fully
loaded Boeing 757-200 crashing and killing everyone on board
every day.
(7) The single largest loss of life resulting from a
foreign attack on United States soil was the September 11
terrorist attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and fentanyl
overdoses cause the equivalent of a new September 11 nearly
every 2 weeks.
(8) In fiscal year 2022, the United States suffered more
fentanyl-related deaths than gun- and auto-related deaths
combined.
(9) Illicit fentanyl is now the number one cause of death
among people in the United States between the ages of 18 and
45.
(10) A 2017 analysis, accounting for the costs of health
care, criminal justice, lost productivity and social and family
services, estimated that the total cost of the drug epidemic of
the United States facilitated by Mexican cartels and other
transnational criminal organizations was more than
$1,000,000,000,000 annually, or 5 percent of gross domestic
product.
(11) Law enforcement and immigration officers report that
smugglers evade apprehension and successfully bring large
quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other illicit
drugs into the United States.
(12) Despite seizures both at and between ports of entry,
like the recent seizure by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
of nearly 54 pounds of fentanyl pills and 32 pounds of
methamphetamine at the Andrade Port of Entry, domestic supply
of these controlled substances indicate a massive amount of
controlled substances are still pouring across our border.
(13) The Federal Government possesses unutilized resources
and lawful measures to combat the cartels through the
designation of those groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
(14) Foreign terrorist organizations are foreign
organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in
accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).
(15) The designation of organizations as foreign terrorist
organizations plays a critical role in the fight against
terrorism and is an effective means of curtailing support for
terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the
terrorism business because such a designation gives law
enforcement agencies and prosecutors greater powers to freeze
the assets of an organization, to deny members of the
organization entry into the United States, and to seek tougher
punishments against those who provide material support to the
organization.
(16) Under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), the Secretary of State may designate an
organization as a foreign terrorist organization if--
(A) the organization is a foreign organization;
(B) the organization engages in terrorist activity
or terrorism, or retains the capability and intent to
engage in terrorist activity or terrorism; and
(C) the terrorist activity or terrorism of the
organization threatens the security of United States
nationals or the national security of the United
States.
(17) Mexican cartels satisfy each of those three criteria,
as they are foreign organizations based outside the United
States, they engage in ``terrorist activity'' such as
assassinations, kidnaping, or use of explosives and firearms,
and their terrorist activities threaten the security of the
United States and the people of the United States.
(18) For instance, four United States citizens, including 3
people from South Carolina, were recently kidnaped by Mexican
drug cartels in Matamoros, Mexico, where at least 2 were
tragically killed in cartel violence.
(19) Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal
organizations, as foreign organizations, make billions of
dollars each year importing deadly drugs into the United
States, especially fentanyl and methamphetamine, which results
in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the United
States each year.
(20) United States Southern Command reports that criminal
organizations, including drug cartels, in their Area of
Responsibility generate an estimated annual revenue of
approximately $300,000,000,000 more than 5-times the combined
defense budget for the region, including Mexico.
(21) The death and destruction caused by the illicit drug
trade is not limited to overdoses and gang violence, rather, it
extends to a significant proportion of nearly all other
criminal activity in the United States, including burglary,
carjacking, robbery, aggravated assault, domestic violence,
felony traffic violations, and much more, and it also extends
to drug addictions that often result in homelessness, suicide,
human trafficking, child sex trafficking, broken families,
birth defects, and other maladies that are devastating
communities across the United States.
(22) The national security threat posed by Mexican cartels
and other transnational criminal organizations extends beyond
the sale of fentanyl and other drugs, as these organizations
have also shown a lethal willingness to protect their business
by any means necessary, including organizing Armed Forces to
fight both their rivals and the Government of Mexico, creating
a dangerous and unstable situation on the southern border of
the United States with innocent people of the United States
caught in the crossfire.
(23) The chaos and calamity caused by Mexican cartels and
other transnational criminal organizations at the southern
border teeters on all-out war, with the Government of Mexico
deploying more than 200,000 Federal troops to fight the
cartels, and even with that military presence, the kidnaping,
decapitations, and terror continue, including on and near
United States soil.
(24) According to statistics of the United Nations, the
homicide rate in the United States Southern Command's Area of
Responsibility was a staggering 15.7 per 100,000 in 2020, out
of a global average of 5.6 per 100,000, no doubt due to the
violence of transnational criminal organizations in the region.
(25) The Department of State has already recognized the
reality of the terror caused by Mexican cartels, issuing its
highest level of travel warning for all but 2 of Mexico's 32
States due to increased threats of crime and kidnaping and
having already named Colombia-based groups like the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP),
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Segunda Marquetalia
(FARC-SM), and the National Liberation Army (ELN) as foreign
terrorist organizations.
(26) There are already known links between transnational
criminal organizations and designated foreign terrorist
organizations, such as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the
Islamic State.
(27) Existing counter-narcotics efforts under the Foreign
Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.),
focusing on financial sanctions, and designating these
organizations as foreign terrorist organizations are better
methods for addressing the increasing violence and supply of
deadly fentanyl and other drugs being shipped across the
border.
(28) Designating Mexican cartels and other transnational
criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations would
enable--
(A) the use of section 1010A of the Controlled
Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960a) to
prosecute drug traffickers associated with these
organizations for providing pecuniary support to a
foreign terrorist organization;
(B) the use of section 2339B of title 18, United
States Code, to prosecute anyone who knowingly provides
material support or resources to these organizations,
including paying human traffickers or those who provide
any logistical support or services to these
organizations;
(C) the use of such section 2339B to impose civil
penalties on any financial institution that fails to
freeze and report any funds in which these
organizations have any interest; and
(D) through those statutes, the use of
extraterritorial jurisdiction to target and prosecute
foreign nationals involved with Mexican cartels and
other transnational criminal organizations.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN DRUG CARTELS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Designations.--The following cartels, including any faction of
such a cartel, associated forces, or subsequent groups, are hereby
deemed to be foreign terrorist organizations pursuant to section 219 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189):
(1) The Sinaloa Cartel.
(2) The Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
(3) The Gulf Cartel.
(4) The Los Zetas Cartel.
(5) The Northeast Cartel.
(6) The Juarez Cartel.
(7) The Tijuana Cartel.
(8) The Beltran-Leyva Cartel.
(9) The La Familia Michoacana, also known as the Knight
Templar Cartel.
(b) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
designation of any organization as a foreign terrorist organization
under this section shall not provide a basis for any alien to obtain
any withholding, deferral, relief, or protection from removal of any
kind.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO COMBAT MEXICAN
CARTELS AND OTHER TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agencies.--The term ``agencies'' has the meaning given
the term ``Executive agencies'' in section 105 of title 5,
United States Code.
(2) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on the Judiciary, the Select Committee on
Intelligence, the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on the Judiciary, the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence, the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Financial Services, and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.
(3) Transnational criminal organization.--The term
``transnational criminal organization'' means a group of
persons, such as those set forth under section 3(a), that
includes--
(A) one or more foreign persons;
(B) that engages in an ongoing pattern of serious
criminal activity involving the jurisdictions of at
least 2 foreign countries; and
(C) that threatens the national security, foreign
policy, or economy of the United States.
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Director of National Intelligence
shall establish an interagency task force on combating Mexican
cartels and other transnational criminal organizations.
(2) Designation.--The task force established under
paragraph (1) shall be known as the ``Interagency Task Force to
Combat Mexican Cartels and Other Transnational Criminal
Organizations'' (in this section referred to as the ``Task
Force'').
(c) Composition.--The Task Force shall be composed of the
following, or their designees:
(1) The Director of National Intelligence.
(2) The Secretary of State.
(3) The Secretary of Defense.
(4) The Attorney General.
(5) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
(6) The Secretary of the Treasury.
(d) Head of Task Force.--The Director of National Intelligence
shall be the head of the Task Force.
(e) Primary Missions.--The primary missions of the Task Force are
as follows:
(1) To eliminate the threat posed to the United States by
Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal organizations,
including any and all violence perpetrated by such groups
against the United States or the citizens of the United States
including the threat posed by the distribution of controlled
substances into the United States.
(2) To serve as the primary organization in the United
States Government for analyzing and integrating all
intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States
Government pertaining to Mexican cartels and other
transnational criminal organizations.
(3) To conduct strategic international operational planning
for activities to counter the Mexican cartels and other
transnational criminal organizations, integrating all
instruments of national power, including diplomatic, financial,
military, intelligence, homeland security, and law enforcement
activities within and among agencies.
(4) To assign roles and responsibilities as part of its
strategic operational planning duties to lead agencies, as
appropriate, for activities to counter the Mexican cartels and
other transnational criminal organizations that are consistent
with applicable provisions of law and that support strategic
operational plans, but shall not direct the execution of any
resulting operations.
(5) To ensure that agencies, as appropriate, have access to
and receive all-source intelligence support needed to execute
their plans or perform independent, alternative analysis.
(6) To ensure that such agencies have access to and receive
intelligence needed to accomplish their assigned activities.
(7) To serve as the central and shared knowledge repository
on known and suspected cartel or transnational criminal
organization members, as well as their goals, strategies,
capabilities, and networks of contacts and support.
(f) Initial Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a detailed report
regarding--
(A) any other Mexican cartels, or factions of
cartels, and transnational criminal organizations that
should be designated as foreign terrorist organizations
under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), including the criteria justifying
each such designation;
(B) any foreign organization which provides illicit
services to Mexican cartels and transnational criminal
organizations, including controlled substance precursor
chemicals and money laundering services, and whether
they qualify as a foreign terrorist organization under
section 219 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1189);
(C) any current Government policy, law, or position
that prevents the United States Government from
accomplishing the goal of eradicating the Mexican
cartels and transnational criminal organizations, or
stopping the flow of controlled substances into the
United States; and
(D) a detailed plan to expand the intelligence
gathering and sharing capability of the United States
Government to eradicate the Mexican cartels and
transnational criminal organizations, including any
steps that Congress must take to streamline this
intelligence process.
(2) Form.--The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
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