TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Feb 9, 2023

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined 21 states in calling on President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) under federal law. The letter from the coalition contends that Mexican cartels are responsible for producing deadly synthetic opioids at a low cost and trafficking the drugs across the U.S. boarder. Skrmetti’s office said in a release today that an FTO designation would provide state and federal law enforcement agencies increased authority to freeze cartel assets, deny entry to cartel members, and allow prosecutors to pursue stricter punishments against those who provide them material support. Read more from the AG’s office.