The bipartisan Mexico Security Assistance Accountability Act introduced in the Senate on May 15 would require the State Department to come up with a strategy to dismantle the Mexican drug cartels with measurable goals.
Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) introduced the legislation targeting the cartels on May 15, noting in a press release that the U.S. government spent $3 billion over more than a decade helping Mexico with security and yet despite this, the cartels “have gained significant ground.”
The bill would ensure that taxpayers get the best return for their investment by helping Mexico annihilate the cartels, increase the capacity of Mexico’s military and public security institutions to degrade the cartels’ effectiveness, and combat public corruption and impunity.
“The strategy must include priorities, milestones, and performance indicators to monitor and evaluate results of U.S. security assistance,” according to the release.
McCormick said that fentanyl trafficked over the southwestern border is killing more than 4,000 people each year in his state of Pennsylvania alone.
“We need a clear strategy to dismantle the cartels that has real accountability and metrics for success, so we know security cooperation is actually achieving results,” McCormick stated.
“I look forward to working with the Administration on this common-sense approach to saving American lives.”
Kelly added that the United State’s relationship with Mexico and a shared security mission are crucial in combating the cartels.
“Our bipartisan bill will establish mission goals to effectively dismantle cartels and increase the capabilities of Mexico’s law enforcement, strengthening U.S. national security and protecting our communities,” he said.
The Mexican drug cartels are the leading driver of the fentanyl overdose crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
In the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stated that “together, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have caused the worst drug crisis in U.S. history,” controlling the flow of nearly all illicit drugs into the United States, including fentanyl.
A 2023 report by the Government Accountability Office raised concerns about the effectiveness of U.S. security assistance in Mexico, finding that the State Department had not identified specific projects to achieve U.S. goals, had not outlined which performance indicators should be used to gauge results, and had not established monitoring and evaluation plans to assess progress toward achieving these goals.
According to provisional data released on May 14 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths have been on the decline, driven mainly by a reduction in fentanyl-related deaths.
The synthetic opioid is at least 50 times more powerful than heroin and was linked to more than 76,000 deaths in 2023. That number dropped to just over 48,000 in 2024, according to released data.
