USA Today Op-Ed: Mexican drug cartels are terrorizing Americans. Here’s how the US needs to fight back.

Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s op-ed from USA Today. Published on March 8, 2023.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and Ismael Zambada Garcia. If you don’t know their names, you should. They should be as recognizable as Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein or Pablo Escobar.

These men and the cartels they command are responsible for killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. They live and operate right in our backyard and have more control and influence over the security of our border with Mexico than the U.S. government.

These men lead two of the most dangerous Mexican drug cartels – the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartels are well-armed and well-funded. They are not street gangs. In fact, they act more like the Islamic State terrorist organization than the mob.

In January, the Mexican military arrested Ovidio Guzman – son of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel leader known as “El Chapo.” The arrest played out like the battles we saw for years in the Middle East between government armed forces and terrorist groups.

The Sinaloa Cartel, equipped with .50 caliber machine guns and armored vehicles, killed 10 Mexican soldiers and injured dozens. Thousands of Mexican soldiers were involved, and the operation was finally completed after days of intense warfare in the streets of Culiacan, Mexico.

But unlike the battles with ISIS and al-Qaida, this did not happen in a distant land. It happened just south of our border.

The cartel-fueled violence can easily spill into the United States and threaten American lives, and that’s exactly what has happened.

Border communities are increasingly overwhelmed by the influx of migrants who must pay a toll to the cartels to facilitate their crossing. Cartel members wearing camouflage and carrying long guns are regularly spotted on both sides of the border.

Cartels overwhelm communities on the border

Border communities are increasingly overwhelmed by the influx of migrants who must pay a toll to the cartels to facilitate their crossing. Cartel members wearing camouflage and carrying long guns are regularly spotted on both sides of the border.

On Tuesday, two of the four Americans kidnapped last week in the border city of Matamoros were found dead and two others were rescued. Mexican authorities say the Americans, reportedly visiting Mexico for a medical procedure, were caught in a fight between rival cartels.

Earlier this year, six people, including a baby, were murdered in California because of cartel-related activity.

But the greatest threat to American lives is the newest product from these cartels: fentanyl. Using chemical precursors from China, the cartels manufacture this narcotic that is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

They take advantage of and facilitate the chaos at our border so they can traffic fentanyl into America with ease.

Fentanyl kills thousands of Americans each year

Due to its highly addictive properties, it is laced into street drugs like oxycontin, cocaine, heroin and even Adderall or Xanax. The result is deadly, killing more than 70,000 Americans a year.

This isn’t a traditional drug problem that can be solved with addiction treatment. This is a deliberate poisoning of Americans.

Every day, we read horrific stories of young people who – without their knowledge – took a fentanyl-laced drug and died. We see the faces of innocent children targeted by fentanyl dealers on apps like Snapchat.

Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized enough fentanyl to kill every single American – 379 million doses. This isn’t isolated to border states like Texas. It’s turning up in the deepest pockets of the country.

We need to target these narco-terrorists on all fronts – financially, with increased criminal penalties and even militarily. I’ve proposed several pieces of legislation that would do just that, including an Authorization for the Use of Military Force against the cartels, which I introduced with Rep. Mike Waltz.

We also need to hit their wallets. That’s why I introduced the Declaring War on the Cartels Act, which would seize the cartels’ assets. My bill would also sanction and deny aid to foreign governments that coordinate with cartels or do not take the necessary action to stop cartel activity in their own countries – Mexico is an obvious example.

It would also authorize increased punishment for anyone convicted of aiding cartel-related crimes by adding up to 20 years to their sentence, and naturalized citizens could lose their citizenship if they are convicted.

Fight against cartels should be bipartisan effort

This is an enemy every American should want to defeat. Every policymaker, regardless of their political affiliation, should be joining legislation like mine. Unlike the border crisis or immigration reform, taking on this common enemy is not inherently partisan.

In a closely divided Congress, opportunities for bipartisan cooperation are rare. We should seize them whenever possible. Stopping the Mexican drug cartels from killing Americans offers a unique opportunity for immediate bipartisanship.

We should not let this chance to save American lives pass us by. 

TEXAS RELOADED IS BACK

TEXAS RELOADED IS BACK

Texas Reloaded is BACK.

Mayra Flores, Cassy Garcia, and Monica De La Cruz are on the verge of flipping South Texas RED for the first time in history this November.

If they win these Democrat seats, it will send a shockwave throughout the country.

But they need your help.

Please donate whatever you can afford at this link.

And please share this ad on FACEBOOKINSTAGRAMand TWITTER.

Thank you for staying in the fight.

Let’s win this.

The Crenshaw Youth Summit is back!

The Crenshaw Youth Summit is back!

It’s back. Mark your calendars because this year’s Youth Summit may be the best one yet. The real Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort. Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon. Conservative legend Dennis Prager. Country music star Randy Houser. All will be there on October 8-9.

And we’ve changed a few things. We will spread the speakers out over two days and include networking breaks and meet and greets. We will have an awesome concert with Randy Houser on Saturday night. Limited tickets will be available to young adults under 40 this year as well, and parents/guardians will have the option to accompany their teenager.

Don’t miss it. Sign up at www.crenshawyouthsummit.com

This is our vision

This is our vision

What do conservatives stand for? How do we win – not only the election in November – but also the culture war at large? How do we prove that conservatism is the only governing philosophy that can ensure freedom and prosperity for all Americans? I’ve been pondering these questions for a long time – and now it’s more important than ever for conservatives to have the right answers. So, this past weekend, I tried to articulate those answers. And the right path forward for us to reverse the disastrous course America is currently headed down.


Please watch my speech above.


Conservatives believe that when you maximize freedom, strong people will thrive. When you rely on and build upon the proven principles of free enterprise, the protection of natural rights, the institutional structures of a republic, you create a formula for boundless success and prosperity.
And it’s the values of the Republican Party that protect and promote these principles. It’s the Republican Party that defends the greatest ideas and the greatest founding documents in history. It is the Republican Party that places faith in the individual to pursue their happiness without the weight of government on their back. The Republican Party is America’s last great hope.


Conservatives must be happy warriors and proudly tell the world why freedom is the path to prosperity. That’s how we win in November and for years to come.

The Border Crisis Is About to Get Worse

The Border Crisis Is About to Get Worse

18,000.


That’s how many illegal immigrants could cross into our country EVERY DAY once Joe Biden rescinds Title 42. We are currently experiencing 7,000 illegal crossings every day as our border continues to be overrun. Remember, Obama’s Homeland Security Secretary said that 1,000 per day was a crisis. 


Joe Biden’s border crisis is unlike anything we’ve seen before. And that’s why we need to take action.


Joe Biden claims that we don’t need Title 42 anymore because the pandemic is winding down (even though we are all still forced to wear masks on planes and kids are still forcibly masked in school). But there’s another public health emergency on the rise: fentanyl overdoses.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for people aged 18-45 in the United States. There were 100,000 in 2021 for this age group, meaning fentanyl killed twice as many people as COVID-19, car accidents, cancer, and suicide.


As fentanyl pours across our border and into our communities, we need to extend Title 42 to be used to protect the American people from fentanyl smuggling at our border.


I’m supporting legislation to do just that but I need your help to put pressure on Joe Biden.


SIGN THE PETITION. TELL JOE BIDEN TO EXTEND TITLE 42 AT THE BORDER.

Russian Collusion

Russian Collusion

The anti-fossil fuel talking points that you’ve heard from the left for years were likely written by the Russians.

The radical environmentalists don’t want you know this. So I went on Fox Business this morning to expose the truth about their collusion with the Putin regime.

It stands to reason for anyone who’s paying attention that the Russians don’t like American natural gas. We’re their biggest competitor. We’ve taken a large part of their market share.

So the Russians see all these radical environmentalist groups, these NGOs, that operate within the United States and hate fossil fuels. They’re ideologically opposed. They worship the deities of solar and wind power. And the Russians say, “Well, why don’t we fund them because they seem to be doing our work better than we could possibly do it?”

The more we dig into this, you find for instance, that there’s a shell corporation in Bermuda called Klein Limited, which primarily funds an organization in San Francisco called Sea Change, which then turns around and funds a lot of groups that you would know like Sierra Club, for instance. So the House Energy and Commerce Committee is investigating this as we speak. We’ve sent out letters to all of these groups demanding that they come forward and be transparent with their funding.

It goes back further than that. In Texas, we lost a big deal with France, a big natural gas export deal with France because the French said all of the sudden, “Oh, the carbon footprint’s too high.” Come to find out, now there are allegations that the Gazprom (Russian state-owned energy corporation) got to the French and said, “No, you need to buy ours.” By the way, remember that Russian natural gas is produced much dirtier than US natural gas.

Again, radical environmental groups are pushing these anti-fossil fuel talking points. And I’m not the only one saying this. The NATO Secretary-General and even Hillary Clinton have admitted that anti-fracking propaganda is largely funded by the Russians. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has done reports on this. And my own Energy and Commerce Committee is investigating.

This is not a big secret. But it has not been well-publicized.

The financial and national security of America depends on our energy dominance. We can’t let Putin and the Democrats destroy it.

Where to vote on Primary Election Day – March 1, 2022

Where to vote on Primary Election Day – March 1, 2022

Election Information for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District

Republican Primary Election Day is Tuesday, March 1. Please see below for specific information about voting hours and locations for Montgomery County and Harris County.

Montgomery County

Polls open 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

On Election Day, Montgomery County registered voters must vote in the precinct where they are registered to vote. Find your precinct’s voting location here: https://elections.mctx.org/vrlookup.asp?curLang=English

Harris County

Polls open 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Harris County registered voters may vote at any Election Day polling location. Find the polling location nearest you: https://harrisvotes.com/WaitTimes?lang=en-US

Volunteer for Dan Crenshaw!

Volunteer for Dan Crenshaw!

Calling all supporters! We need your help to GET OUT THE VOTE for Dan Crenshaw in his primary election on March 1st. For high school and college students, this is also a great opportunity to earn volunteer credit hours!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26

Phone Bank for Dan Crenshaw
11:00am – 2:00pm
The Woodlands Campaign HQ
2829 Technology Forest Blvd, Suite 280
The Woodlands, TX 77381
Lunch will be provided
Please RSVP at So***@*****************ss.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 1

Election Day GOTV
7:00am – 7:00pm
Choose a two-hour shift to call voters or greet voters at a poll in Dan Crenshaw’s district.
Please email So***@*****************ss.com to find a time and location that works best for you.

And remember – early voting ends TODAY! Please see below for links to view early voting locations in Montgomery County and Harris County.

Montgomery County: https://elections.mctx.org/evPolls.asp?ELID=73&curLang=English&ElectionId=PRI030122
Harris County: https://www.harrisvotes.com/Docs/EarlyVotingPDFMaps/EV_Poster_Final_Primaries_2022.pdf