A progressive US congressman from Texas has asked his legislative colleagues to join him in condemning some American conservatives’ calls to invade Mexico – ostensibly to do battle with drug cartels there.
Joaquin Castro says he intends to file a resolution in the US House as soon as Friday reaffirming the federal government’s “commitment to respecting the sovereignty of Mexico and condemning calls for military action without Mexico’s consent and congressional authorization”.
The San Antonio Democrat and House foreign affairs committee member’s proposed measure – a copy of which was provided to the Guardian – comes after a high-profile episode in May saw US senator John Kennedy urge the US to send its military into Mexico to confront drug cartels.
In the process, Kennedy insulted Mexicans by saying they “would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback” steakhouse restaurant if it were not for their proximity to the US. The racist remarks earned the Louisiana Republican criticism from Mexico’s top government leaders as well as many of his compatriots.
Donald Trump, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy – who are all seeking the Republican party’s 2024 White House nomination – have similarly pledged to send US military forces into Mexico to wipe out drug lords if given the chance, as the Dallas Morning News reported.
The resolution from Castro, who has served in the House since 2013, seeks to assert that the US and Mexico “have cooperated for several decades on a variety of issues such as trade, investment, counter-narcotics, migration, rule of law and security, including through recent high-level security and economic dialogues”.
Castro’s resolution is not a bill and therefore would not have the force of law if the House passes it. Nonetheless, such measures can have meaningful symbolic value.
In a statement to the Guardian on Thursday, Castro said it was important not to “normalize the idea of invading Mexico”.
“War with Mexico would cause devastating loss of life and would be disastrous for millions of Mexicans and Americans living in Mexico, as well as those in the US whose livelihoods depend on legitimate cross-border trade,” said the statement from Castro, who identifies as Mexican American. “This resolution sends a strong message that the United States respects Mexico’s sovereignty and that Congress does not support dangerous calls for war at our southern border.”
Republican rhetoric that exalts the idea of charging into Mexico with the US military centers in part on Mexican cartels’ pressing illegal fentanyl into counterfeit pills, which are designed to look like Xanax, oxycodone, Percocet and other prescription medications.
Many of the 70,000 or so overdose deaths reported in the US annually involve people who ingested fentanyl without realizing it.
Mexico maintains that many of its government officials as well as citizens have sacrificed their lives in the name of stopping fentanyl from flowing across the country’s borders.
after newsletter promotion
And Mexican leaders have suggested that US conservatives should not be so quick to contemplate invading Mexico as a solution to the fentanyl crisis. Instead, they say, the US could do more to block its residents from obtaining fentanyl simply by going for a short drive to meet dealers, who are often American-born, or logging on to certain websites.
The non-profit Friends Committee on National Legislation echoed some aspects of that position in a statement supporting Castro’s resolution. “Responding to the fentanyl epidemic with military force would militarize a public health challenge for which treatment and health services are desperately needed to help those suffering from drug dependence,” said a statement from the committee’s foreign policy director, Heather Brandon-Smith.
Cosponsors of Castro’s measure include the Democratic representatives Nydia Velázquez of New York, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. It would require a simple House majority to ratify the resolution.
Democrats for now hold 212 seats, and Republicans have 222. That means Castro’s resolution would stand a strong chance of succeeding with his fellow Democrats’ support and only a handful of Republican defections.
It is unclear when the resolution may get to a vote after Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy’s removal from the role on Tuesday. The House must select a replacement speaker for its business to substantially resume, and the chamber was expected to be in recess for the rest of the week.