Rep. Crenshaw Discusses Legislative Push to Combat and Kill Cartels, Notes Trump’s Encouragement

 Washington— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R) says the United States has a rare opportunity to work directly with Mexico to target drug cartels, and that President Donald Trump (R) is fully behind the effort.

In a conversation at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, Rep. Crenshaw said he asked President Trump if he would support U.S. involvement in assisting Mexico’s war against the cartels.

“I talked to the president about it when I was in Mar-a-Lago a couple months ago and I was like, ‘Hey, would you be supportive of us doing this?’” Rep. Crenshaw told Texas Politics. “And he was like, ‘You want to kill them, you want to kill them, right Dan? You want to kill the cartels?’ And I was like, ‘Yes sir.’ He was like, ‘Got it.’ That was it. That was the conversation.”

The congressman, who has been vocal about the need to treat cartel violence as a national security threat, believes the current moment presents a unique opportunity.

“The opportunities are boundless at this point,” he said. “We have a great new ambassador in Mexico, I’m very excited about it. I keep trying to remind everyone that this is a new Mexican administration, this is not the old one. They want to fight this counterinsurgency through wars against the cartels, and they want our help.”

Rep. Crenshaw contrasted that with what he described as Mexico’s longstanding sensitivity over foreign involvement.

“Mexico has a long history of being hypersensitive about their sovereignty, to the point where it has been irrational, and not accepting any kind of aid or help,” he said.

In Congress, Crenshaw is pushing for legislative and financial backing through what he refers to as the North America Security Initiative. The goal is to fund a multi-agency strategy capable of addressing cartel violence as a counter-insurgency effort. He noted that such a conflict requires serious resources, coordination, and long-term commitment.

“Our job in Congress is to create resources in legislation that backs it all up,” he said. “I call that the North America Security Initiative. You’ve got to fund a multi-agency approach to a problem,  you’re fighting a counter-insurgency war.”

Asked whether the U.S. can trust Mexico’s cooperation, Rep. Dan Crenshaw was clear.

“Yes, we vet them, we already trust them. People don’t realize that there are massive partnerships with them. They're highly vetted," he explained.

Crenshaw also emphasized that Mexico needs the right tools to carry out this mission. “We want the Mexicans to be armed, with the right equipment,” he said.