The Mexican cartel's latest deadly kidnappings of four U.S. citizens could be the tipping point for America's unbearable border crisis.
Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker joined "Mornings with Maria," Wednesday, to weigh in, urging the Biden administration to implement militaristic force to alleviate the U.S.'s exasperated border before another American gets "caught in the crossfire."
Swecker referenced Columbia, a previously drug-fueled country that required the U.S. government's military force, in the Wednesday segment.
"I wouldn't say they're perfect, but [Columbia has] restored law and order and the rule of law in Columbia because we used our military against the traffickers. We did it quietly. We didn't advertise that we were doing it, but we used some very sophisticated techniques, some technology, some special forces, intelligence, etc.," Swecker told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo.
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"Gave them plenty of money in the planned Columbia funding that we provided to them. And the other thing that we can do is what we did when Kiki Camarena was murdered by the cartels in 1985 – a DEA agent who was tortured and murdered. We shut that border down for a couple of days, and it strangled the Mexican economy. And, you know, we need to start playing hardball with Mexico and closing our own borders down."
Swecker's advice comes as drug smuggling and crime continue to run rampant in Mexico, with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asserting that the country has unleashed a fentanyl crisis on Americans "on purpose." The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has stated fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered.
Swecker went on to explain that, in certain failed nations, the state's government will "tolerate the bad guys," giving criminal groups "room" to operate any and all legal activity.
"In this case [Mexico], the narcos have integrated into the government. In other words, they control the government. The government is powerless to stop them," Swecker warned.
"This is a history with the PRI government that goes back for decades, even before drug smuggling. It was other types of smuggling that took place back in the seventies and early eighties. So it is a cozy relationship, but it's also a relationship of intimidation. The cartels are just more powerful," he said.
The PRI government, Swecker explained, is a political party that held uninterrupted power in Mexico from 1929 to 2000, and were alleged to have strong ties to the drug cartels.
"Mexico is a narco state. It has been for a long time, and particularly under this pre-government, the PRI government. They have ties with the cartels that go back two decades," the former FBI official explained.
"U.S. citizens are just not safe down there. Literally, we have open borders; we basically incentivize these cartels, and they profited immensely, as was pointed out over the last few years under the Biden administration. There's no risk, there's no deterrent from doing what they're doing," he warned.
