[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3401 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3401
To apply counterinsurgency tactics under a coordinated and targeted
strategy to combat the terrorist insurgency in Mexico waged by
transnational criminal organizations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 10, 2011
Mr. Mack introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on
Homeland Security and the Judiciary, 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 apply counterinsurgency tactics under a coordinated and targeted
strategy to combat the terrorist insurgency in Mexico waged by
transnational criminal organizations, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Enhanced Border Security Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this Act to protect United States citizens
from external threats by establishing and applying appropriate
counterinsurgency tactics under a coordinated and targeted strategy to
combat the terrorist insurgency in Mexico waged by transnational
criminal organizations by utilizing cross-agency capabilities to--
(1) secure the United States-Mexico border through a secure
border area;
(2) curtail the ability of such organizations to finance
their operations with United States funds in cities throughout
the United States; and
(3) increase the ability of the Government of Mexico to--
(A) reduce violence;
(B) diminish corruption;
(C) improve cooperation between military and law
enforcement;
(D) stabilize communities; and
(E) fortify functioning government institutions.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Mexican drug cartels have evolved into transnational
criminal organizations and diversified and expanded their
illicit activities, including human smuggling, trafficking in
stolen oil, weapons smuggling, extortion, kidnapping, and
cybercrime.
(2) Mexican drug cartels have increased their profits
through various illicit activities and have become more
resilient and dangerous organizations. Rough estimates of
stolen oil proceeds range between $2 billion and $4 billion
each year. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), approximately $6.6 billion annually is generated
from human smuggling from Latin America to the United States.
(3) A July 2011 White House report found that transnational
criminal organizations have expanded and matured, threatening
the security of citizens and the stability of governments
throughout the region, with direct security implications for
the United States.
(4) An August 2011 Department of Justice National Drug
Threat Assessment found that Mexican-based transnational
criminal organizations were operating in more than 1,000 United
States cities during 2009 and 2010.
(5) On October 11, 2011, a foiled terrorist assassination
plot of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador by members of the Iranian
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps demonstrated the
internationally recognized threat posed by Mexican drug cartel
members at the United States-Mexico border.
(6) The Merida Initiative, led by the Department of State,
has failed to address the evolution of the drug trafficking
organizations into transnational criminal organizations, the
diversification of their illicit activities, and the systematic
implementation of insurgency tactics that undermines the
Mexican state and seeks to control the political space.
(7) The Merida Initiative has faced implementation
challenges and programmatic delays. A July 2010 Government
Accountability Office report highlighted Merida Initiative
delays associated with equipment deliveries as well as a lack
of clear benchmarks for programmatic success.
(8) The utilization of counterinsurgency tactics will focus
on isolating Mexican transnational criminal organizations from
their sources of power, such as drugs, money, human resources,
and weapons, while addressing both military and non-military
conditions and border conditions sustaining the insurgency,
including corruption, infighting, financing, and human support.
(9) The end goal of the coordinated and targeted strategy
is to protect United States citizens from external threats
through the empowering of a friendly and competent government
that operates within international laws and regulations and is
able to secure itself from internal threats.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Terrorist insurgency.--The term ``terrorist
insurgency'' means the protracted use of irregular warfare,
including extreme displays of public violence utilized by
transnational criminal organizations to influence public
opinion and to undermine government control and rule of law in
order to increase the control and influence of the
organizations.
(2) Transnational criminal organization or organization.--
The term ``transnational criminal organization'' or
``organization'' means a self-perpetuating association of
individuals who--
(A) operate transnationally for the purpose of
obtaining power, influence, monetary gain, or
commercial gain wholly or in part by illegal means; and
(B) protect their activities--
(i) through a pattern of corruption or
violence; or
(ii) through a transnational organizational
structure and the exploitation of transnational
commerce or communication mechanisms.
SEC. 5. COUNTERINSURGENCY STRATEGY AND CONDITIONALITY.
(a) Counterinsurgency Strategy.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, with the
concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the
Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a counterinsurgency strategy that--
(1) defines and outlines the transnational criminal
organizations in Mexico, their leaders, goals, objectives,
evolution, key elements, and areas of influence;
(2) provides an assessment of the terrain, population,
ports, financial centers, and income-generating activities
utilized by transnational criminal organizations;
(3) assesses the capabilities of Mexico's federal law
enforcement, military forces, state and local government
institutions, and other critical elements, such as
nongovernmental organizations that may organize to counter the
threat posed by transnational criminal organizations;
(4) describes operations of, or on behalf of, transnational
criminal organizations within the United States, including
information on trafficking activities, financial networks, and
safe havens;
(5) describes operations of transnational criminal
organizations at the United States-Mexico border, the Mexico-
Guatemala border, and other international borders, including
operations relating to contraband, human support networks,
financial support, and technological advancements;
(6) utilizes information obtained under paragraphs (1)
through (5) to coordinate with relevant United States agencies
to address the operations of transnational criminal
organizations within the United States, at the United States-
Mexico border, and within Mexico to isolate such organizations
from their sources of power in order to successfully combat the
terrorist insurgency in Mexico;
(7) includes--
(A) within the United States, a plan to combat the
operations, financial networks, and money laundering
techniques of transnational criminal organizations,
including--
(i) a dramatic increase of the number of
Mexican and Central American drug traffickers
on the Specially Designated Nationals list;
(ii) a report by the Office of Foreign
Assets Control of the Department of the
Treasury detailing the progress of designating
Mexican and Central American individuals and
entities supporting such organization on the
Specially Designated Nationals list, as well as
providing suggestions to help identify areas to
further impact the financial networks of such
organizations;
(iii) increasing cooperation between the
Department of Justice and State and local
agencies responsible for firearms law
enforcement; and
(iv) development of a thorough, strict, and
standardized accounting procedure for keeping
track of Federal grant assistance provided to
State and local law enforcement agencies for
border security purposes;
(B) at the United States-Mexico border, in
coordination with the Government of Mexico and the
Department of Homeland Security, a plan to address
resources, technology, and infrastructure required to
create a secure border area that establishes border
security as a top priority of the Government of the
United States, including--
(i) doubling the number of Border Patrol
agents over the number in existence as of the
date of the enactment of this Act, or as
determined by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in a comprehensive report on the best
use of resources, technology, and
infrastructure to secure the border;
(ii) development of a plan to build
additional infrastructure to support Border
Patrol activities along the border that would
enhance security in hard-to-enforce areas, such
as roads and tactical double layered fencing as
determined by the Secretary of Homeland
Security;
(iii) determining technology required to
support Border Patrol activities in reducing
unlawful movement of goods and people at the
border, including cameras, radars, sensors, and
unmanned aerial vehicles;
(iv) a report by the Attorney General that
provides a policy that standardizes the
threshold for prosecution of border-related
offenses by the United States Attorney's
Office;
(v) a plan to develop a joint United
States-Mexico program to increase intelligence
gathering utilizing classified technologies;
and
(vi) increased use of Border Patrol Special
Response Teams that concentrate on high-
priority threats, including weapons and bulk
cash smuggling, and high-potency, high-cash-
value drugs along the border; and
(C) within Mexico, in coordination with the
Government of Mexico, the development of a multi-agency
action plan, including--
(i) development of strong rule-of-law
institutions to provide security for people and
businesses in Mexico by--
(I) increasing coordination among
military and law enforcement agencies
focused on establishing and expanding
secure areas around key population
centers;
(II) increasing knowledge of best
practices for combating such
organizations, incorporating United
States military and law enforcement
lessons learned, worldwide
counterinsurgency experts in training
programs, and as appropriate, training
carried out by international law
enforcement academies; and
(III) securing the environment, as
recommended in separate reports by the
Secretary of Defense and the Director
of National Intelligence;
(ii) diminish support for transnational
criminal organizations by--
(I) instituting programs to
strengthen governance and rule of law,
such as promoting a culture of
lawfulness and providing incentives to
United States businesses operating in
Mexico that promote and support culture
of lawfulness efforts;
(II) developing safe communities
for families and youth by enhancing and
recreating successful youth programs
and anti-drug coalitions, enhancing
public education regarding the
activities of such organizations, and
promoting economic development; and
(III) promoting the creation and
enhancement of the institutions of good
local governance; and
(iii) neutralize transnational criminal
organizations by--
(I) re-evaluating threats within
Mexican regions in order to assign a
specialized task force to key regions
designed to concentrate on high-
priority targets and separate such
organizations from their sources of
support;
(II) requesting the support of
United States military advisors to
assist the Mexican regional task
forces; and
(III) supporting Mexican federal
law enforcement operations that provide
services to the population while
gathering raw intelligence and
providing such intelligence to regional
task forces; and
(8) includes a report on Mexican and Central American
extradition requests and extraditions carried out.
(b) Updates.--
(1) Office of foreign assets control.--The Office of
Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury shall
submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection
(a) updates on a quarterly basis of the information required to
be included in the counterinsurgency strategy under subsection
(a)(7)(A)(ii).
(2) Secretary of state.--The Secretary of States shall
submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection
(a) updates on a quarterly basis of the information required to
be included in the counterinsurgency strategy under subsection
(a)(8).
(c) Withholding of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, if the Secretary of State does not submit the counterinsurgency
strategy required under subsection (a) in accordance with such
subsection, then 20 percent of the amounts otherwise made available to
the Department of State for fiscal year 2012 shall be withheld from
obligation and expenditure until such time as the strategy is submitted
in accordance with such subsection.
SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COUNTERINSURGENCY
STRATEGY.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made available to
the Department of State for the Merida Initiative are authorized to be
made available to develop and implement the counterinsurgency strategy
required under section 5(a).
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