Texas Steps Up: Abbott Takes Extreme Action To Fight Back Against Drug Cartels - 'Public Enemy Number One'

This week, the government of Texas, under Republican Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX), enacted a law that designates Mexican Drug Cartels as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations." The new law is designed to supplement the states already existing capabilities to combat the cartels.

According to Breitbart News, the new law focuses on expanding Texas' fight against "human smuggling, drug smuggling, money laundering, and other organized criminal activities."

At the signing ceremony in Austin, Abbott said, "Today, I am signing six bills from this year’s regular session to ensure that Texas can continue to do even more to stop illegal immigration at our southern border and provide new tools to the brave men and women along the southern border to protect Texans and Americans from the chaos and crisis of the border."

This week, I signed into law several critical pieces of border security and public safety legislation.

These laws will help ensure the safety of Texans across the state & further strengthen our state’s border security efforts to hold the line. pic.twitter.com/JGZotQy2WQ

— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) June 9, 2023

"Today, public enemy number one is the Mexican cartels, and they impact every community in Texas and the United States. Our mission is to detect and interdict transitional criminal activity and create proactive strategies to combat it. It’s dangerous to cross between ports of entry, and securing the border between them is ideal to fight Mexican cartels."

The new laws essentially cement an executive order signed by Abbott in 2022 and present a stark counterpoint to Joe Biden's utter refusal to do likewise, as reported by DC Enquirer in March. At the time, the 45th President Donald J. Trump opined that Biden was aligning himself with the cartels against the American people. “The drug cartels and their allies in the Biden administration have the blood of countless millions on their hands,” he told supporters.

According to Breitbart, the Texas Senate passed the bill with a near-unanimous 30-1 vote. In the Texas State House, it passed 93-51 largely along party lines. Abbott tweeted after the signing, "The border security package I signed into law today will strengthen Texas' historic response to President Biden's border crisis. Thanks to the leadership of @TXMilitary and @TxDPS and robust support from the Texas Legislature, #OperationLoneStar continues to hold the line."