On April 10, I joined three tribal leaders at a hearing held by the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources to examine the threat to Indian Country communities posed by foreign drug cartels.
Those leaders expressed alarm at how Mexican drug cartels have rapidly established a foothold on drug trafficking and other criminal activities in their communities, and they literally braved death threats to appear at the hearing.
Representatives of two tribes in Montana and one from Arizona implored Congress and federal agencies to prioritize the well-being of the citizens in Indian Country by securing the border and providing resources to help them eradicate the cartels.
According to tribal leaders, the cartel operatives can "Blend in" to the native communities, and in some cases have "Married in" to become embedded in the reservation community and to facilitate the recruitment of street-level dealers, who are often local people who become vulnerable to cartel control through addiction and substance abuse.
The dismantling of border security under Biden policies has enabled foreign drug cartels to expand drug-distribution networks, devastating American communities in the process.
This, together with the lucrative human-smuggling and trafficking business, has not only enriched foreign drug cartels to an unprecedented level, but apparently has now emboldened them to import their tactics of intimidation of political leaders to create a safe environment in which to operate.
Federal law enforcement agency leaders need to heed these warnings and act to address the cartel threat.
https://cis.org/Vaughan/Tribal-Leaders-Seek-Help-Oust-Mexican-Drug-Cartels
No comments:
Post a Comment