“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Former DEA operations chief Mike Vigil said that designating Mexican cartels as terrorist groups “is pure political theater”.
Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), said that Mexican cartels are operating in almost every state in the United States; mainly CJNG and Sinaloa.
“The cartels are operating in almost all the states of the country, mainly the Sinaloa and CJNG, and they are like paramilitaries, because they travel in armored trucks and have large weapons,” said the former DEA agent.
In an interview for Radio Fórmula, Mike Vigil assured that due to the great control they have over drug sales, particularly the Sinaloa Cartel, they are a danger for the United States and Mexico, as well as for the whole world.
“These cartels operate in the south of Mexico, but they also control many of the routes between Mexico and the United States, which generates competition among the same criminal groups to control border states such as Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Baj Caifornia, Chihuahua and Sonora.
Likewise, Mike Vigil pointed out that the proposal to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations would not be the solution, as it is almost symbolic, since the only thing it allows is for the United States to freeze the accounts of criminals in that country.
It also sanctions if U.S. citizens have business dealings with these criminal groups and are supported by them, and a third point is to prevent them from entering the United States.
“If they were to designate the cartels as terrorist groups, they would have to act against arms manufacturers in the United States, because they are supporting the cartels, 70 percent of the cartels’ weapons come from the United States,” added Mike Vigil.
The former DEA chief of operations described the Republicans, who are seeking this designation, as hypocrites, since he said that “they don’t want to do anything against arms manufacturers”.
“It’s pure political theater in the face of the U.S. elections, they don’t do anything, they just keep criticizing everyone including Biden,” he said.