Fox News’ Peter Doocy questioned White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday about whether President Joe Biden was okay with Mexican drug cartels operating so close to the country.
This follows the kidnapping of four Americans by armed men when they crossed the border from Texas to Mexico. Later, two were discovered dead, while the other two were discovered alive.
“We’ve made history by seizing that fentanyl. That is a result of the actions taken by this president. I just mentioned the 23,000 federal agents we were able to hire and station at the border to protect it,” added Jean-Pierre.
She continued by saying that in addition to penalties that break up the drug’s supply chain, there has also been an expansion of detection methods, such as fentanyl test strips.
READ ALSO: Evers’ Budget Tax Proposal: Increased For Wealthiest, Cuts For Low and Middle-Income?
Biden Reacts to Deaths of Americans Kidnapped in Mexico
Meanwhile, the killings of two Americans in Mexico on Tuesday were deemed unacceptable by the White House, which also committed to seeing that justice was served.
Jean-Pierre claimed President Joe Biden’s administration was striving to bring the last two Americans home. Tamaulipas, a border state, was the scene of an attack and kidnapping last week; the survivors are now in American custody.
At the scene of the attack on Friday, where gunmen shot at their automobile, one of the four Americans perished. Before being taken to Texas, the two survivors were seen in the back of an ambulance.
When pressed, Jean-Pierre declined to clarify whether Biden would label the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations but did mention that the region was under a travel warning.
They were all discovered in a stash home in the little village of El Tecolote, about 6.5 miles from Matamoros, according to Mexican authorities. A person has been detained in relation to the incident, at least once.
The survivors were transported to the border in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday in a procession of Mexican ambulances and SUVs before being handed over to representatives of the US embassy.
According to the Mexican publication Milenio, police are looking into the possibility that the group was abducted by members of the Gulf Cartel, a notoriously vicious organization led by the infamous La Kena.
Told by the sister of one of the abducted, the four were traveling from Lake City, South Carolina to the border town of Matamoros for McGee to receive a reduced belly tuck when they were caught in the crossfire of a shooting on Friday.
McGee and a man may be seen together in pictures taken from an ambulance, but it is yet unclear which of the four people died. Also, the details of the murders remain as yet unknown.
The group is seen being shoved into the back of a van in video footage of the kidnapping incident. Tamaupilas, one of six states that are currently under travel advisories, includes Matamoros.
After getting caught in the crossfire of a battle between two gangs on Friday, they were seized. While negotiating for the release of Americans, the US government, according to former attorney general Bill Barr, should treat the gangs the same way they treat ISIS.
READ ALSO: 4 Americans Abducted From A Eccentric Minivan In Mexico
