Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy pressed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the dangers drug cartels pose to Americans at the U.S.-Mexico border at Tuesday’s briefing.
Doocy accused President Joe Biden of being “comfortable” with cartels operating close to the U.S. as fentanyl and other drugs flow into the U.S. and kill Americans.
“Cartels kill Americans on this side of the border with drugs, and now they’re killing Americans on the other side of the border with guns. Why is President Biden so comfortable with cartels operating so close to the U.S.?” Doocy asked.
“Because of the work that this president has done, because of what we’ve done specifically on fentanyl at the border, it’s at historic lows, historic levels that we have been able to record a number of personnel working to secure the border because of what we’ve been able to do. Seizing that fentanyl. We’ve done it in a historic way, that’s because of what this president has done,” Jean-Pierre responded.
The press secretary said the administration has further strengthened its communication with Mexico to tackle the drug cartels and violence occurring at the border. (RELATED: Mother Of Sons Killed By Fentanyl Breaks Down During Emotional Testimony)
“But the violence aspect of it, now Americans are being slaughtered,” Doocy said. “Would President Biden be taking the same approach if it was al-Qaeda or ISIS operating just across the border from an American city?”
“He takes this very seriously,” Jean-Pierre replied. “The FBI and other agencies have been on top of this from day one and so that’s what he’s gonna continue to do. When it comes to Americans’ lives and when it comes to the safety of Americans, the president is always going to make sure that that is a top priority.”
Doocy asked whether Biden would consider using the U.S. military “to disrupt cartel operations.” The press secretary said she will not discuss the U.S. military or its operations.
Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and is the leading cause of drug deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The drug’s origins seemingly come from China, though the drug has entered the U.S. by drug cartels through a handful of other countries, leading to the deaths of many American adults and children, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Biden administration imposed sanctions on three alleged Latin American fentanyl traffickers, Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta, Nelton Santiso Aguila and Jason Antonio Yang Lopez in late January to prevent any American from engaging in transactions with properties or assets belonging to them.