[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 444--CONDEMNING THE VH1 TELEVISION SHOW CARTEL CREW

  Mr. KENNEDY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:

                              S. Res. 444

       Whereas the VH1 television show Cartel Crew glorifies drug 
     cartels and individuals who live in luxury as a result of the 
     wealth that drug cartels corruptly amass;
       Whereas there is concern that youth across the United 
     States may watch Cartel Crew and come to believe that crime 
     is profitable;
       Whereas the words and deeds of the cast members of Cartel 
     Crew suggest that those cast members have no interest in 
     separating themselves from their illicit pasts;
       Whereas the relatives of the cast members of Cartel Crew 
     are some of the worst criminals in history;
       Whereas the mother of Michael Blanco, Griselda Blanco, is 
     better known as ``Cocaine Godmother'', a drug lord in the 
     Medellin Cartel who was responsible for nearly 200 murders 
     while transporting cocaine from Colombia to the United States 
     in the 1990s and early 2000s;
       Whereas Michael Blanco defended his mother when asked about 
     her crimes, saying that she ``didn't have a choice'', due to 
     the fact that she grew up poor;
       Whereas the newest addition to the cast of Cartel Crew, 
     Emma Coronel Aispuro (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``Aispuro''), is the wife of Joaquin Guzman Loera (referred 
     to in this preamble as ``El Chapo'');
       Whereas, as of the date of the adoption of this resolution, 
     El Chapo is the single most dangerous individual alive, 
     having created the Sinaloa Cartel and led it on its 
     destructive path of trafficking drugs and individuals for 
     decades;
       Whereas, since establishing his crime syndicate in the late 
     1980s, El Chapo has been responsible for the deaths of 
     hundreds of thousands of individuals, through both direct 
     violence and the devastating impact of drug addiction;
       Whereas, at one point, El Chapo was on the Ten Most Wanted 
     Fugitive List published by the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation;
       Whereas Aispuro--
       (1) helped El Chapo escape from a Mexican prison; and
       (2) was under investigation in the United States as 
     recently as April 2019; and
       Whereas Aispuro clearly intends to profit from the 
     notoriety her cartel connections afford her, as she is 
     developing a clothing line called ``El Chapo Guzman'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate urges VH1--
       (1) to cancel Cartel Crew;
       (2) to reconsider its standards when developing television 
     shows so that victims of cartel bloodshed and destruction are 
     not further harmed; and
       (3) to be a better steward of public media by refusing to 
     spread the erroneous message that crime is profitable.

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