DEA bans the term ‘Mexican cartels’ in latest PR stunt

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Aug 13, 2021

By Jenny Goldsberry

The Daily Caller unearthed an email sent from Drug Enforcement Agency headquarters directing the department to stop using the term “Mexican cartels.” A government official who received the email mid-July leaked it to the news organization.

“Also, we need to now avoid saying ‘Mexican cartel’ or discussing the Mexican government or LE (Law Enforcement) cooperation with Mexico,” the email read. Instead, they’d like to emphasis the international participation in the cartels, rather than blaming the crime organization solely on Mexico. “Please continue using ‘drug cartel,’ TCO (Transnational Criminal Organizations), DTO (Drug Trafficking Organizations), etc.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland swore in DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in June. This email is the latest effort in the DEA’s public relations image. As a result, very few current DEA officials are able to speak on the epidemic on national news because of their new policy. Now, all TV interviews must go through the Department of Justice. Most interviewees never get approval.

Meanwhile, officials at the border have found more fentanyl than ever before. Former head of the DEA’s Special Operations Derek Maltz told Sara Carter on a recent episode of her show that the drug just recently gained popularity. According to him, fentanyl is mostly snuck in as counterfeit drugs. “In 2015, the Phoenix DEA office seized zero, Mexico oxy counterfeit pills. In 2020, there was 6 million,” Maltz said. “That’s one DEA office in one part of the country. The DEA lab, Sara, did a recent analysis. One in every four pills had a lethal dose. 26% of the pills they analyzed were lethal.”

The DEA did not respond to the Daily Caller’s requests for comment. Read the full article here.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.