[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1270 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1270

  To direct the Secretary of State to designate as foreign terrorist 
  organizations certain Mexican drug cartels, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 30, 2011

   Mr. McCaul (for himself and Mr. King of New York) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of State to designate as foreign terrorist 
  organizations certain Mexican drug cartels, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Office of Counterterrorism of the Department of 
        State has stated, ``FTO designations play a critical role in 
        our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of 
        curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring 
        groups to get out of the terrorism business.''.
            (2) Foreign drug cartels have used brutal tactics of 
        violence and the threat of violence against United States 
        citizens to protect and expand their drug trade and as well as 
        their areas of operation. In September 2010, American David 
        Hartley was shot by the Mexican drug cartel, the Zetas, while 
        jet skiing, because he unknowingly came too close to their 
        avenues for drug smuggling across Falcon Lake in Texas. In 
        February 2011, Special Agent Jaime Zapata, an Immigrations and 
        Customs Agent, was murdered by the Zetas while on duty in 
        Mexico. These are only two cases of many where American lives 
        have been lost or threatened due to the actions of drug 
        cartels.
            (3) When Americans at home and abroad, including agents 
        assigned to protect United States borders and national 
        security, are targeted, threatened, and attacked by such 
        foreign entities, it serves a continual threat to the safety 
        and security of the United States and its people.
            (4) The Mexican drug cartels meet all of the legal criteria 
        for designation as foreign terrorist organizations under 
        section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1189):
                    (A) The organizations are foreign organizations.
                    (B) The organizations engage in terrorist activity 
                (as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)) or 
                terrorism (as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the 
                Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 
                and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d)(2)), or retain the 
                capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity 
                or terrorism).
                    (C) The terrorist activity or terrorism of the 
                organizations threatens the security of United States 
                nationals or the national security of the United 
                States.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

    The Secretary of State shall designate under section 219 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) as a foreign terrorist 
organization the following:
            (1) The Arellano Feliz Organization.
            (2) The Los Zetas Cartel.
            (3) The Beltran Leyva Organization.
            (4) La Familia Michoacana.
            (5) The Sinaloa Cartel.
            (6) The Gulf Cartel/New Federation.
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