Posted on 08/30/2023 3:39:26 PM PDT by Faith Presses On
(snip) What is often misunderstood in the Hollywood treatment the drug trade receives is that it isn’t just run by foreigners. The internal U.S. distribution networks for fentanyl are the most essential component of the foreign cartels’ operations because, without them, there are no sales and no profits. And organized crime since time immemorial exists only for those illicit profits.
By designating producers of fentanyl as FTOs, the U.S. federal and state law enforcement bureaucracies would have expanded powers to freeze the assets of U.S. citizen collaborators of the cartels. They could be prosecuted under terrorism statutes which carry stiffer sentences. The deterrent factor would be palpable.
It’s important to understand who these people are. They are the Main Street small business owners of trucking firms, warehouses and stash houses. They are the accountants, lawyers and bankers, as well as the street level dealers. Imagine if they were all now viewed by the American people and the justice system as being just as deadly as a jihadist with an explosive vest. The cartels need American citizens and U.S. residents to make their fentanyl enterprises run.
But the U.S. does not pursue them with the same intensity as the foreign bad guys, perhaps because they don’t pull the triggers, explode the bombs or kidnap their enemies. Instead, these U.S. individuals press click on small money transfers to offshore shell companies. They open their warehouse doors at a certain time and ask no questions as to what is stored within.
This is a similar issue to a boss having just one really competent give-him-any-problem-and-it’s-solved employee. The boss gives him everything down to planning the garbage pail locations. Soon, that guy is overwhelmed and useless. I see the issue, but I don’t think this is the answer.
Close the GD border. We are in a soft war with a narco terrorist state. Bomb those bastard cartels to oblivion and seal the border. Let the Mexicans complain all they want. The Mexican citizen living in fear of the cartels would probably welcome it.
How about closing the borders and throwing dealers in jail for YEARS, users in jail for 10 years, suspend it for treatment. Test them every two weeks for a year. If they fail, put them back in jail for the remainder.
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