Blinken ADMITS parts of Mexico are controlled by cartels, not by the government

Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Wednesday that he believed parts of Mexico are controlled by the drug cartels and not by the Mexican government. 

Giving testimony during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee he also said he'd 'consider' pushing that the drug gants are designated as terrorist groups.

Blinken was being questioned by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who held a press conference earlier this month and said he wanted cartels to be labeled terrorist organizations and pressed Congress to authorize the use of military force to destroy Mexican drug labs. 

During Wednesday's hearing, Graham asked Blinken, 'Are the drug cartels in control of parts of Mexico not the government of Mexico?'

'I think that’s fair to say, yes,' President Joe Biden's top diplomat answered. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Wednesday that he believed parts of Mexico are controlled by the drug cartels and not by the Mexican government

Blinken was being questioned by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who held a press conference earlier this month and said he wanted cartels to be labeled terrorist organizations

Graham then asked Blinken if he believed 'that fentanyl coming from Mexico is killing Americans by the tens of thousands.'

'It is. And it’s also killing Mexicans,' Blinken replied. 

From there, Graham asked Blinken the more broad question of whether he believed the U.S.'s border policy was working to stop fentanyl from pouring over the southern border. 

'They need to do more. They need to be more effective,' Blinken said. 

Blinken then suggested the U.S. technology to intercept the fentanyl could be improved. 

'Ninety-six percent of the fentanyl coming to the United States is coming through legal ports of entry,' Blinken noted. 'We have the technology that can catch a lot of that. We need to deploy it faster.'

Republicans on Capitol Hill have predominantly pointed to the migrant traffic coming over the border as the way drugs enter the country as well.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has a presence in 24 of 32 states in Mexico and has shipped cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl-laced heroin to the United States

A vehicle riddled with bullets lies overturned on a street in Jesus Maria, Mexico in January, the small town where Ovidio Guzman was detained. Guzman is the son of notorious Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' 

'How about this idea – rather than just interdicting at the border, we go to the source and declare Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law, would you consider that?' Graham asked Blinken. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had previously swatted down the idea.

'Yes, we'd certainly consider that,' Blinken said. 

Jean-Pierre was asked about Graham's idea the same day as the press conference.  

'Designating these cartels as [Foreign Terrorist Organizations] would not grant us any additional authorities,' Jean-Pierre said. 

She argued that sanctioning cartels through the Treasury Department was a better avenue to go after them.

'And this means that drug traffickers can no longer use family or friends to hide their assets from the from the reach of the U.S. government,' she said. 'So again, we don't believe that this will grant us any additional authorities.'