I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4303 

To direct the Secretary of State to designate as foreign terrorist organizations 

certain Mexican drug cartels and submit a report on the activities the 

Department of State is taking to assist Mexico with drug cartel violence, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2012 

Mr. MCCAUL (for himself and Mr. MACK) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to designate as foreign 

terrorist organizations certain Mexican drug cartels and 

submit a report on the activities the Department of 

State is taking to assist Mexico with drug cartel violence, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Office of Counterterrorism of the De6 partment of State has stated, ‘‘FTO (Foreign TerVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:23 Apr 05, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4303.IH H4303

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1 rorist Organizations) designations play a critical role 

2 in our fight against terrorism and are an effective 

3 means of curtailing support for terrorist activities 

4 and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism 

5 business.’’. 

6 (2) Assistant Secretary Brownfield acknowl7 edged in sworn testimony on October 4, 2011, that 

8 ‘‘[M]any of the facts on the ground, the things that 

9 are being done by those organizations (drug cartels), 

10 are consistent with what we would call either ter11 rorism or insurgency in other countries.’’. 

12 (3) On October 27, 2011, Secretary Clinton 

13 during a Congressional Hearing stated: ‘‘. . . we are 

14 sensitive to the characteristics that some of these 

15 drug traffickers have adopted that certainly resemble 

16 terrorist activities . . . I have said it has character17 istics of an insurgency . . .’’. 

18 (4) When Americans at home and abroad, in19 cluding agents assigned to protect United States 

20 borders and national security, are targeted, threat21 ened, and attacked by such foreign entities, it 

22 threatens the safety and security of the United 

23 States and its people. 

24 (5) Mexican drug cartels maintain drug-dis25 tribution networks, or supply drugs to distributors, 


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1 in at least 230 American cities, leading the Justice 

2 Department to call Mexican drug cartels the ‘‘great3 est organized crime threat’’ to the United States. 

4 (6) On March 13, 2010, Lesley A. Enriquez, an 

5 employee of the United States consulate in Mexico, 

6 and her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, a detention of7 ficer with the El Paso County Jail, were targeted 

8 and killed allegedly by a drug trafficking organiza9 tion (DTO). 

10 (7) On February 15, 2011, the Zeta DTO bold11 ly attacked and killed United States Immigration 

12 and Customs Enforcement agent Jamie Zapata, and 

13 wounded a second agent, Victor Avila. 

14 (8) Since President Caldero ́n took office in late 

15 2006, assaults on Border Patrol agents have in16 creased from 729 in fiscal year 2006 to 1,039 in fis17 cal year 2011. 

18 (9) In Mexico, there have been over 8,000 

19 homicides in 2011, increasing the number of deaths 

20 related to organized crime and pushing the number 

21 of deaths to over 40,000 since President Caldero ́n 

22 came to office in late 2006. 

23 (10) In early August 2010, President Caldero ́n 

24 described the violence perpetrated by the DTOs as 


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1 ‘‘a challenge to the state, an attempt to replace the 

2 state’’. 

3 (11) In 2010 there were 13 political assassina4 tions, including several that took place around the 

5 July municipal and state elections. 

6 (12) In the 5 years of the Caldero ́n govern7 ment’s crackdown on the DTOs, more than 40 jour8 nalists in Mexico have been murdered or disappeared 

9 according to the International Committee to Protect 

10 Journalists, including at least 7 journalists in 2011. 

11 (13) DTOs use car bombs, displays of mur12 dered individuals, body mutilations, beheadings, and 

13 other indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including 

14 the August 25, 2011, Casino Royale arson fire in 

15 Monterrey, to intimidate the public. 

16 (14) President Caldero ́n’s response to a DTO’s 

17 burning of the Casino Royale and murder of 52 in18 nocent civilians was, ‘‘We are facing true terrorists 

19 . . .’’. 

20 (15) The Mexican drug cartels meet all of the 

21 legal criteria for designation as foreign terrorist or22 ganizations under section 219 of the Immigration 

23 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189): 

24 (A) The organizations are foreign organi25 zations. 


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1 (B) The organizations engage in terrorist 

2 activity (as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B) of 

3 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1182(a)(3)(B))) or terrorism (as defined in sec5 tion 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Author6 ization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 

7 U.S.C. 2656f(d)(2))), or retain the capability 

8 and intent to engage in terrorist activity or ter9 rorism. 

10 (C) The terrorist activity or terrorism of 

11 the organizations threatens the security of 

12 United States nationals or the national security 

13 of the United States. 

14 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION. 

15 The Secretary of State shall designate under section 

16 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1189) as a foreign terrorist organization the following: 

18 (1) The Arellano Felix Organization. 

19 (2) The Los Zetas Cartel. 

20 (3) The Juarez Cartel. 

21 (4) The Beltran Leyva Organization. 

22 (5) La Familia Michoacana. 

23 (6) The Sinaloa Cartel. 

24 (7) The Gulf Cartel/New Federation. 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall sub3 mit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

4 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela5 tions of the Senate a report on the activities the Depart6 ment of State is taking to assist Mexico with drug cartel 

7 violence, including programs under the Merida Initiative, 

8 training programs, and equipment. 

9 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Merida 

10 Initiative’’ means the program announced by the United 

11 States and Mexico on October 22, 2007, to fight illicit nar12 cotics trafficking and criminal organizations throughout 

13 the Western Hemisphere. 

Æ 


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