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Roy Pushes Terrorist Designation for Mexican Drug Cartels

Chip Roy speaks to a a reporter following a news conference to commemorate state-sponsored border wall construction. (Photo by Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a journalism fellow at The Daily Signal. Send an email to Pedro.

In the wake of Mexico’s recent explosion of gang violence, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is pushing his Republican colleagues in the House to codify an executive order declaring some drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations.

Roy’s renewed efforts come after a U.S.-led military operation resulted in the death of the cartel’s leader, “El Mencho,” which resulted in violent unrest in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, over the weekend.

“The elimination of El Mencho makes clear why Congress must codify President Trump’s strong border policies into law,” Roy told The Daily Signal.

Roy told The Daily Signal on Tuesday that Congress must pass the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act. “Congress must pass this legislation to ensure that, regardless of who occupies the White House, the United States has the full authority to relentlessly pursue and destroy the cartels,” he claimed.

The bill looks to codify a day-one executive order from President Donald Trump, titled “Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”

“The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States,” Executive Order 14157 reads in part. “In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society.”

“The Cartels’ activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere,” the order continues. “Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States.”

PUT ON THE SPOT: Trump asks Congress members to stand if they believe “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” pic.twitter.com/CXIw2ALffN— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) February 25, 2026

PUT ON THE SPOT: Trump asks Congress members to stand if they believe “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” pic.twitter.com/CXIw2ALffN

Following the executive order, on Jan. 31, 2025, Roy re-introduced the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act to direct the Secretary of State to designate the Mexican Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations.

“I first introduced H.R. 885, the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act, in 2019 to permanently enshrine that designation in U.S. law, and I have reintroduced it in every Congress since,” Roy said about his legislation.

Over 70 people have been killed in Puerto Vallarta after El Mencho’s death, TIME noted. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico has issued a shelter-in-place for Americans in parts of Mexico.

The cartel, Roy stated, is also “responsible for flooding our communities with dangerous drugs and violence.”

Some of Roy’s conservative colleagues in the House are also pushing for the bill.

“Cartels have slaughtered Americans and poisoned our families with fentanyl,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told The Daily Signal. “Congress must codify President Trump’s executive order designating cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations now—so no future administration can look the other way.”

“Yet Democrats continue to ignore this deadly chaos,” Harris added.

Harris is now considering joining 31 of his Republican colleagues in co-sponsoring Roy’s bill; his office told The Daily Signal.

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