Rep. Castro Against Using “Military Action” to Take Down Mexican Cartels

Texas Representative Joaquin Castro (D) recently rebuffed the Republicans’ idea of using “military action” to take down Mexican cartels. 

Many conservative lawmakers have been pushing for more forceful action against the cartels.

“The Republicans calling for military action against Mexico are taking us down a dangerous road. The U.S. and Mexico need to work together to address violence and drug trafficking – but the U.S. must also take responsibility for our role in fueling these crises,” said Rep. Castro.

The Texas congressman pointed out how the cartels, known for the illegal smuggling of drugs, operate. Furthermore, the Representative gave his view on how to prevent the drug crisis.

“Cartels profit by meeting U.S. demand for drugs. To meaningfully fight fentanyl trafficking, we need more investments in addiction prevention + treatment. In May, @HouseForeign passed my amendment expanding joint efforts to address youth drug use- a first step to curb demand.”

According to Castro, most of the guns used by Mexican cartels are “U.S.-made.”

“70% of guns recovered in Mexico and submitted for ATF tracking can be traced back to the U.S. U.S.-made guns are arming cartels and fueling violence. I’ve introduced the ARMAS Act to disrupt gun smuggling – but we need Republicans to get on board.”

The Texas Representative introduced the legislation in 2022 to help stop the illegal smuggling of cartels.

“The ARMAS Act would marshal a comprehensive federal strategy to disrupt arms trafficking, restore Congressional oversight over small arms exports and prevent legitimate security assistance from being diverted to criminal groups,” said Castro.

In other news, The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recently ruled in favor of the Students for Fair Admissions, eliminating affirmative action.

The SCOTUS ruling stated that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) went against U.S. Constitutional law.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor (D) held a much different view from the conservative judges, stating that the ruling would prevent black students’ race from being considered.

“Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress,” wrote Sotomayor.

“It holds that race can no longer be used in a limited way in college admissions to achieve such critical benefits. In so holding, the Court cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter.”