North Houston News

Congressman Dan Crenshaw has been chosen by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to lead a Congressional task force addressing Mexican drug cartels. The task force's mission is to thoroughly investigate cartel activities, provide policy recommendations, educate the public and introduce legislation to effectively counter the cartels, with the support of a group of Republican representatives.

"I am proud to be leading this task force focused on neutralizing the Mexican drug cartels," Crenshaw said, according to a press release. "The cartels have operational control over our southern border, facilitate and take advantage of our immigration crisis, and are killing tens of thousands of Americans every year with fentanyl."

"This task force will rectify that by fully investigating cartel activity, producing policy recommendations, educating the American public and bringing legislation to the House floor to wholistically target the drug cartels so they can no longer threaten our safety and sovereignty. I applaud Speaker McCarthy for recognizing the severity of this issue and thank him for the opportunity to lead this task force," Crenshaw said. 

The task force members include Brian Babin (TX-36), Chip Roy (TX-21), August Pfluger (TX-11) and Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), along with other House Republicans.

Crenshaw has emerged as a prominent figure in the Republican campaign against cartels, having introduced multiple legislative initiatives, such as the Authorization for Use of Military Force and the Declaring War on the Cartels Act, Fox News reported. His approach has drawn the notice of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has taken note of Crenshaw's direct strategies in combating these criminal groups. In March, Obrador warned of initiating an "information campaign" in response to Republican suggestions, including Crenshaw's, about potential U.S. military support against Mexican cartels involved in fentanyl production and cross-border movement.

Crenshaw strongly criticized Obrador for his recent outburst against the Republican Party's proposal to employ the U.S. military to combat Mexico's formidable drug cartels, which Obrador denounced during a press conference, The Texas Tribune reported.

“I mean, this president is out of control. If you weren’t sure if he was bought off by the cartels before, you can be pretty sure now, because this was an unprovoked set of comments from him,” Crenshaw said. 

"The Mexican drug cartels are putting fentanyl over our border and killing about 80,000 Americans a year, and yet no one knows who the heads of the drug cartels are," Crenshaw said, according to Fox 26 Houston.