Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act

To direct the Secretary of State to designate certain Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and to submit a report to Congress justifying such designations in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act 2. Report on designation of certain drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that each of the drug cartels referred to in subsection (c) meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189 (b) Defined term In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress (1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate (2) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate (3) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate (4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate (5) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate (6) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate (7) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives (8) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives (9) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives (10) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives (11) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives (12) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives (c) Designation (1) In general The Secretary of State shall designate each of the following Mexican drug cartels as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189(a) (A) The Reynosa/Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel. (B) The Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. (C) The Jalisco New Generation Cartel. (D) The Sinaloa Cartel. (2) Additional cartels The Secretary of State shall designate any Mexican drug cartel, or any faction of such a cartel, as a foreign terrorist organization if such cartel or faction meets the criteria described in such section 219(a). (d) Report (1) Report required Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit a detailed report to the appropriate committees of Congress regarding— (A) each of the drug cartels referred to in subsection (c)(1) that describes the criteria justifying their designations as foreign terrorist organizations under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189(a) (B) all other Mexican drug cartels, or factions of cartels, that the Secretary determines pursuant to subsection (c)(2) meet the criteria for designation as foreign terrorist organizations under such section 219(a), including the specific criteria justifying each such designation. (2) Form The report required under paragraph (1)— (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex; (B) shall be made available only in electronic form; and (C) may not be printed, except upon a request for a printed copy from a congressional office.

Summary: Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act This bill requires the Department of State to designate four specified Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. (Among other things, such a designation allows the Department of the Treasury to require financial institutions to block transactions involving the organization.) The bill also requires the State Department to designate other Mexican drug cartels, or factions of such cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations if they meet certain criteria.