Upon President Donald Trump's (R) election, surging illegal immigration at the border was a topic of concern that his campaign highlighted on the campaign trail. Come 2022, surging border crossings continue to be an issue that lawmakers disagree over. Republicans have warned of the dangers that drug cartels pose, and Florida Rep. Michael Waltz (R) has penned an Op-Ed discussing the issue. Arguing that "Trump is right" when it comes to the dangers of drug cartels at the souther border, Waltz says "it's time we take the fight to the cartels' home turf."
Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper stirred controversy with the release of his new memoir after he claimed that President Trump wanted to direct missiles to Mexico to "destroy the drug labs" and to destroy the cartels.
While the allegation incited a divisive response, Waltz is doubling down on the sentiment, sharing that "we shouldn’t dismiss President Trump’s idea that the time for these drug cartels’ reckoning has come" because "these cartels have been terrorizing our country for years by importing drugs and violence, as well as playing a part in destabilizing our southern border."
As the state continues to combat a growing drug epidemic, Waltz lamented that "according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the United States last year." Furthermore, "a report from Families Against Fentanyl assess the deadly imported drug is the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 to 45."
Calling this a "national security crisis," Waltz believes that the United States should "do the same with cartels in Mexico just as we did in Colombia with direct U.S. involvement."
What this entails is taking a more aggressive approach to the cartels in Mexico that could include "patrolling, marksmanship, land navigation, and much more."
