I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 713 

To provide enhanced capabilities to combat transnational criminal cartels, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2023 

Mr. CRENSHAW (for himself, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. WEBER of 

Texas, Ms. VAN DUYNE, and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the following bill; 

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

to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Ways and 

Means, and Homeland Security, 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 provide enhanced capabilities to combat transnational 

criminal cartels, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Declaring War on the Cartels Act of 2023’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL CARTELS 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Penalty. 

Sec. 103. Offenses. 

Sec. 104. Circumstances. 

TITLE II—AUTHORITIES TO COMBAT TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL 

CARTELS 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Financial. 

Sec. 203. Transnational criminal cartel as a ground of inadmissibility. 

Sec. 204. Penalties for nationals and residents facilitating transnational cartels. 

Sec. 205. Foreign government coordination. 

Sec. 206. Connections between governments and transnational criminal organizations. 

Sec. 207. Sanctions on foreign governments found to facilitate transnational 

criminal cartels. 

Sec. 208. Sanctions on foreign persons found to facilitate transnational criminal cartels. 

Sec. 209. Penalties on financial institutions continuing to do business with 

transnational criminal organizations. 

1 TITLE I—TRANSNATIONAL 

2 CRIMINAL CARTELS 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For the purpose of this title, the term ‘‘transnational 

5 criminal cartel(s)’’ are used to indicate the organizations, 

6 affiliates, and witting facilitators of the following: 

7 (1) The Sinaloa Cartel. 

8 (2) The Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 

9 (3) The Beltran-Levya Cartel. 

10 (4) The Gulf Cartel. 

11 (5) The Los Zetas. 

12 (6) The Tijuana Cartel. 

13 (7) The La Familia Michoacana/Knights Tem14 plar Cartel. 


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1 SEC. 102. PENALTY. 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the sen3 tence of a person convicted of an offense described in sec4 tion 103 shall be increased by not less than 10 years and 

5 up to 20 years if the offense is committed under the cir6 cumstances described in section 104. 

7 SEC. 103. OFFENSES. 

8 The offenses described in this section are— 

9 (1) a Federal felony involving a controlled sub10 stance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled 

11 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) for which the max12 imum penalty is not less than 5 years; 

13 (2) a Federal felony crime of violence that has 

14 as an element the use or attempted use of physical 

15 force against the person of another; 

16 (3) a violation of United States customs laws, 

17 specifically sections 542, 545, and 553 through 555, 

18 of title 18, United States Code; 

19 (4) a violation of sections 873 and 880 of title 

20 18, United States Code; 

21 (5) a violation of sections 922 and 931 of title 

22 18, United States Code; 

23 (6) a violation of sections 1001, 1002, and 

24 1015 of title 18, United States Code; 

25 (7) a violation of chapter 51 of title 18, United 

26 States Code; 


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1 (8) a violation of chapter 55 of title 18, United 

2 States Code; 

3 (9) a violation of section 1365 of title 18, 

4 United States Code; 

5 (10) a violation of sections 1425 through 1427 

6 of title 18, United States Code; 

7 (11) a violation of sections 1502 and 1510 

8 through 1513 of title 18, United States Code; 

9 (12) a violation of sections 1583 through 1585, 

10 1589 through 1592, and 1597 of title 18, United 

11 States Code; 

12 (13) a violation of sections 2118 through 2119 

13 of title 18, United States Code; 

14 (14) a violation of section 2231 of title 18, 

15 United States Code; 

16 (15) a violation of sections 2241 through 2245 

17 of title 18, United States Code; 

18 (16) a violation of sections 2251 and 2251A of 

19 title 18, United States Code; 

20 (17) a violation of chapter 113 of title 18, 

21 United States Code; 

22 (18) a violation of sections 2421 through 2424, 

23 of title 18, United States Code; and 

24 (19) a conspiracy to commit an offense de25 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (18). 


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1 SEC. 104. CIRCUMSTANCES. 

2 The circumstances described in this section are that 

3 the offense described in section 103 was committed by a 

4 person who— 

5 (1) participates in a transnational criminal car6 tel with knowledge that its members engage in or 

7 have engaged in a continuing series of offenses de8 scribed in section 103; 

9 (2) intends to promote or further the felonious 

10 activities of the transnational criminal cartel or 

11 maintain or increase his or her position in the 

12 transnational criminal cartel; and 

13 (3) has been convicted within the past 5 years 

14 for— 

15 (A) an offense described in subsection (c); 

16 (B) a State offense— 

17 (i) involving a controlled substance (as 

18 defined in section 102 of the Controlled 

19 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) for which 

20 the maximum penalty is not less than 5 

21 years’ imprisonment; or 

22 (ii) that is a felony crime of violence 

23 that has as an element the use or at24 tempted use of physical force against the 

25 person of another; 


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1 (C) any Federal or State felony offense 

2 that by its nature involves a substantial risk 

3 that physical force against the person of an4 other may be used in the course of committing 

5 the offense; or 

6 (D) a conspiracy to commit an offense de7 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

8 TITLE II—AUTHORITIES TO COM9 BAT TRANSNATIONAL CRIMI10 NAL CARTELS 

11 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

12 For purposes of this title: 

13 (1) The term ‘‘first-degree family member’’ has 

14 the meaning given such term in section 1635.3 of 

15 title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc16 cessor thereto). 

17 (2) The term ‘‘second-degree family member’’ 

18 has the meaning given such term in section 1635.3 

19 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc20 cessor thereto). 

21 SEC. 202. FINANCIAL. 

22 (a) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FINANCIAL INSTITU23 TIONS.—Members of transnational criminal cartels shall 

24 be prohibited from utilizing financial institutions located 

25 in or doing business in the United States. 


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1 (b) ASSET FORFEITURE.—Members convicted for in2 volvement in transnational criminal cartels shall forfeit all 

3 assets associated with their involvement in transnational 

4 criminal activity in accordance with the procedures under 

5 section 981 of title 18, United States Code, except that 

6 the assets seized and proceeds deriving therefrom shall be 

7 deposited into a fund to be known as the ‘‘CARTEL 

8 Fund’’. 

9 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FROM ASSETS

10 SEIZED.—Amounts in the CARTEL Fund shall be dis11 tributed each fiscal year as follows: 

12 (1) 75 percent of funds shall be distributed to 

13 the Department of Homeland Security, to be distrib14 uted by the Secretary of Homeland Security to— 

15 (A) Customs and Border Protection; and 

16 (B) Immigrations and Customs Enforce17 ment. 

18 (2) 25 percent of funds shall be distributed to 

19 the Department of Justice, to be distributed by the 

20 Attorney General to the Drug Enforcement Adminis21 tration. 


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1 SEC. 203. TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL CARTEL AS A 

2 GROUND OF INADMISSIBILITY. 

3 Section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(H) TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL CAR7 TEL.—Any alien who is a member or affiliate of 

8 a transnational criminal cartel, and any first9 degree or second-degree family member of such 

10 an alien. Terms used in this subparagraph have 

11 the meanings given such terms in section 

12 1635.3 of title 29 of the Code of Federal Regu13 lations (or any successor thereto).’’. 

14 SEC. 204. PENALTIES FOR NATIONALS AND RESIDENTS FA15 CILITATING TRANSNATIONAL CARTELS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The sentence of any national of 

17 the United States convicted as an accessory of an offense 

18 described in section 103 shall be increased by up to 15 

19 years if the offense is committed under the circumstances 

20 described in section 104. 

21 (b) DENATURALIZATION.—A naturalized citizen of 

22 the United States will be subject to the penalties described 

23 in subsection (a) and may be subject to denaturalization, 

24 pursuant to section 340(c) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1451(c)). 


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1 (c) REVOCATION.—Lawful permanent residents of 

2 the United States will be subject to the penalties described 

3 in subsection (a) and shall be subject to revocation of law4 ful permanent resident status and removal proceedings. 

5 SEC. 205. FOREIGN GOVERNMENT COORDINATION. 

6 The Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of 

7 State to establish a working group to coordinate bi- and 

8 multi-lateral efforts in countries or regions where des9 ignated transnational criminal organizations operate in 

10 order to coordinate and direct efforts by the United States 

11 and other governments to combat and contain 

12 transnational crime. 

13 SEC. 206. CONNECTIONS BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS AND 

14 TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

15 Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland 

16 Security Investigations, in coordination with the Federal 

17 Bureau of Investigations and other relevant United States 

18 Governmental entities, shall— 

19 (1) investigate governmental corruption and 

20 any connections or coordination between foreign gov21 ernments where transnational criminal cartels oper22 ate; and 

23 (2) investigate governmental corruption and 

24 any connection or coordination between State, local, 


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1 Tribal, territorial government where transnational 

2 criminal cartels operate. 

3 SEC. 207. SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS FOUND 

4 TO FACILITATE TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL 

5 CARTELS. 

6 (a) SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.—Sanc7 tions described in subsection (b) may be applied to any 

8 foreign government found to— 

9 (1) facilitate a designated transnational crimi10 nal cartels by providing material support or re11 sources, as defined in section 2339A(b)(1) of title 

12 18, United States Code; 

13 (2) provide resources used by transnational 

14 criminal cartels in the commission of their crimes 

15 described in 203; or 

16 (3) permit, or fail to take adequate measures to 

17 prevent, transnational criminal cartel activity within 

18 their territory. 

19 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The President may 

20 consider terminating assistance provided for under the 

21 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (Public Law 87–195). 


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1 SEC. 208. SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN PERSONS FOUND TO FA2 CILITATE TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL CAR3 TELS. 

4 (a) SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN PERSONS.—Any foreign 

5 person found to be facilitating a transnational criminal 

6 cartel by providing material support or resources, as de7 fined in section 2339A(b)(1) of title 18, United States 

8 Code, shall be subject to the sanctions described in sub9 section (b). 

10 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, in ac12 cordance with the International Emergency Eco13 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block 

14 all transactions in all property and interests in prop15 erty of a foreign person described in subsection (a) 

16 if such property and interests in property are in the 

17 United States, come within the United States, or are 

18 or come within the possession or control of a United 

19 States person. 

20 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at21 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

22 violation of any prohibition imposed by the President 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be subject to the 

24 penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of sec25 tion 206 of the International Emergency Economic 

26 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as 


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1 a person that commits an unlawful act described in 

2 subsection (a) of that section. 

3 (3) EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES

4 AND REVOCATION OF VISA OR OTHER DOCUMENTA5 TION.—In the case of an alien determined by the 

6 President to be subject to subsection (a), the alien 

7 shall be subject to denial of a visa to, and exclusion 

8 from, the United States, and revocation in accord9 ance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Na10 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of any visa or other 

11 documentation of the alien. 

12 (c) FOREIGN PERSON DEFINED.—In this section the 

13 term ‘‘foreign person’’ means— 

14 (1) any natural person who is not a lawful per15 manent resident, as defined by section 101(a)(20) of 

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

17 1101(a)(20)), or who is not a protected individual, 

18 as defined by section 274B(a)(3) of such Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)); or 

20 (2) any foreign corporation, business associa21 tion, partnership, trust, society or any other entity 

22 or group that is not incorporated or organized to do 

23 business in the United States, as well as inter24 national organizations, foreign governments and any 


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1 agency or subdivision of foreign governments (e.g., 

2 diplomatic missions). 

3 SEC. 209. PENALTIES ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS CON4 TINUING TO DO BUSINESS WITH 

5 TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

6 Any financial institution that intentionally fails to 

7 comply with section 202(a) shall be subject to a civil pen8 alty in an amount that is the greater of— 

9 (1) $50,000 per violation; or 

10 (2) twice the amount of which the financial in11 stitution was required under such section 103(b)(3) 

12 to retain possession or control. 

Æ 


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