(UnitedVoice.com) – Mexico has long been known as a country that is controlled by drug cartels. It has a democratic government like the United States, but narco-terrorists operate with seeming impunity. Since 2006, more than 300,000 people have lost their lives in the country’s war against drug cartels. Tens of thousands have been kidnapped.
Four Americans were recently the victims of cartel crime when they visited our neighbor to the south. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) spoke out about the tragic situation and made a bold declaration.
Kidnapping in Mexico
On March 3, four Americans — Latavia “Tay” McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, and Shaeed Woodard — from South Carolina crossed the US-Mexico border at Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The group was traveling in a white minivan with North Carolina plates when they came under fire just blocks into the country. The area the four entered is known as being controlled by the Gulf cartel. A video of the incident showed armed men wearing body armor putting the four into a white truck. Two of the victims left a trail of blood on the ground while they were dragged across the pavement in broad daylight, with dozens of witnesses. A Mexican woman who happened to be walking by was killed in the attack.
According to a report in The New York Times, Mexican officials believed the four were mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers. In reality, they were there so McGee could undergo a tummy tuck procedure.
On Tuesday, March 7, two of the kidnapping victims were rescued and sent back to the US. The other two died in the attack, and their bodies were being examined by Mexican authorities before being sent back home. Officials have not identified the survivors, but reports indicate McGee and Williams were back in the US. Woodward and Brown were allegedly deceased.
Senators Respond
On Monday, March 6, Graham appeared on Fox News’s Jesse Watters show, where he discussed the kidnapping. He said he plans to introduce legislation that would designate some of the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and it would “set the stage to use military force if necessary.” According to Graham, he would tell Mexico that if they do not get the problem under control, then the US is going to do it.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Fox News that he doesn’t agree with Graham’s position. He said the answer to the problem with cartels is “not to invade Mexico.” Instead, he believes the US should use diplomacy to get the country in line.
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