After a Mexican cartel was accused of murdering two Americans after kidnapping four in Tamaulipas, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News serious action should be taken against the "narco-terrorists."
Two South Carolinians — Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown — were found dead following the ordeal, while Eric Williams and Latavia Washington McGee survived, Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal Anaya said Tuesday.
Cruz told "Jesse Watters Primetime" those who kill American citizens must be held accountable, and that the tragic kidnappings and murders would not have happened if it weren't for a dearth of presidential leadership.
"Joe Biden created the chaos at the border. Joe Biden stopped building the wall. He reinstated catch-and-release, he pulled out of Remain in Mexico," Cruz said.
FIRST OF FOUR AMERICANS KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED
"Joe Biden and the Democrats are responsible for turning these vicious murderers into multi-billionaires. We need to bankrupt them. We need to put them out of business, and the people responsible for these murders need to be brought to justice."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Monday on "Jesse Watters Primetime" he will introduce legislation to facilitate U.S. military intervention against the cartels if necessary.
"Let me be clear. Lindsey is my colleague, but I'm not with him. The answer is not to invade Mexico. I don't think the answer is to just go to war with whatever country you're mad at," he said, adding former President Donald Trump was able to lessen cartels' effects through tough diplomacy with Mexico's incumbent President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, nicknamed "AMLO."
"When Donald Trump was president, AMLO — who is the same anti-American leftist then that he is now — was afraid of Donald Trump," Cruz said.
TWO OF THE FOUR AMERICANS KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO ARE DEAD, TWO ALIVE: REPORT
"AMLO agreed to the Remain in Mexico agreement. AMLO put soldiers on Mexico's southern border and we ended up getting the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. The reason this is so bad is AMLO thinks that Joe Biden is a wimp."
Cruz expressed dismay at Lopez Obrador's past comments in front of Biden he said essentially praised the president for his failed border policies.
"You should watch the press conference that AMLO did with Biden, where AMLO stands there, and in Spanish boastingly says, 'Joe Biden, he's the first president, Republican or Democrat, who hasn't built a single meter of border wall.'"
War against Mexico is not the answer, Cruz said, echoing others' concerns about the effect it would have on the two nations' intertwined economic partnerships for one, saying pressuring Mexico City to take action and extradite culprits to Washington is the best answer.
