Mexico’s cartels should be designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) for their role in President Joe Biden’s border crisis, according to governor-hopeful and previous congressman Matt Salmon. If cartels were designated as FTOs, federal prosecutors would have more power and reach to take action on them and their allies, such as drug traffickers or foreign nationals.
Previous President Donald Trump toyed with the idea of designating Mexican cartels as FTOs but scrapped it after multiple advisors recommended against it, suggesting that doing so would hurt relations with Mexico. Trump’s initial inclination to classify Mexican cartels as FTOs was prompted by the 2019 massacre of nine dual citizens, a Mormon family, by suspected drug trafficking members.
Federal law lists three criteria necessary to classify something as an FTO: it must be foreign, engaged in or planning terrorist activities, and posing a threat to the country’s national security or any nationals. Such a designation would fall under the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ purview. Texas Governor Greg Abbott suggested the same back in April in a letter to Mayorkas.
the highjacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an aircraft, vessel, or vehicle)
the seizing or detaining, and threatening to kill, injure, or continue to detain, another individual in order to compel a third person (including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the individual seized or detained
A violent attack upon an internationally protected person (as defined in section 1116(b)(4) of title 18) or upon the liberty of such a person.
An assassination.
The use of any biological agent, chemical agent, or nuclear weapon or device, or explosive, firearm, or other weapon or dangerous device (other than for mere personal monetary gain), with intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more individuals or to cause substantial damage to property.
A threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing.
Salmon’s suggestion occurred during an interview with AZ Free News about his latest visit to the border in Vekol Valley last week. Salmon confirmed that he’s visited various parts of the border at least over ten times, including Yuma and Sierra Vista.
Americans learned last week that Biden drove by the border once 13 years ago. Other than that, the president has reportedly never visited the border in his life.
Salmon recounted to AZ Free News that the desert was covered with so much trash – like discarded clothes and water bottles – that it looked like a “rummage sale.” He also remarked on how the signs warning visitors of human and drug smuggling were riddled with bullet holes.
Most of the discarded clothing was similar, said Salmon: piles of camouflage gear and “carpet shoes,” which are cloth shoes that illegal immigrants and cartel members slide over their tennis shoes or boots to muffle their steps and cover up their tracks.
The discarded clothes are left behind by the historic number of illegal immigrants: 1.7 million. That’s only counting encounters and apprehensions, not “got-aways:” those never encountered at all. Leaked information from anonymous border patrol agents revealed that around 30,000 to 40,000 got-aways have occurred each month since Biden took office.
The cartels aren’t just bringing illegal immigrants. They’re trafficking drugs. The vast majority of fentanyl in the country comes from across the southern border. The effects of this are already evident in Pima County: their proximity to the border has made fentanyl overdoses the leading cause of death for people under 19. Cartels will sometimes have the migrants
“This is a human rights crisis of epic proportions,” said Salmon. “Why [is the Biden Administration] turning a blind eye to all this human suffering that’s going on at the border?”
Salmon knows of one family whose athlete son died from an overdose after unintentionally purchasing a muscle relaxer laced with fentanyl on the internet.
The gubernatorial candidate expressed his disgust for how the entire Biden Administration continues to ignore the border crisis.
“I’ve been very vocal that Mayorkas should step down and resign in shame. This has all happened on his watch,” asserted Salmon. “The current administration under Biden is dismal. They won’t recognize that this is a crisis.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
This past July, Arizona lawmakers and Governor Ducey did the right thing. Through a series of Budget Reconciliation Bills, they took important steps to protect the people of Arizona from more COVID mandates and to prevent children from being indoctrinated in public schools by Critical Race Theory.
While COVID was certainly an issue that warranted some action, it never should have included trampling on the rights of the people. And we definitely should not be wasting tax dollars on lessons that teach public school students that one race, ethnic group, or sex is in any way superior to another.
Not surprisingly, these laws sent teachers’ unions into a tailspin. As students headed back to campus, some Arizona schools decided to teach students that it’s ok to violate the law. And the Arizona Board of Regents recently announced that all three state universities will require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8.
For his latest campaign event, Arizona Attorney General and Senate-hopeful Mark Brnovich enlisted the help of Steve Gill: a right-leaning radio host and former news site owner accused of domestic abuse and jailed over a week for neglecting to pay $170,000 in child support.
Brnovich’s campaign event occurred Monday in Gill’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Guests could pay $100 for entry, or $300 for a host committee at the luncheon, which took place at a local restaurant called Jasper’s.
As reported by The Tennessean, the domestic abuse allegations came from Gill’s most recent ex-wife, Kathryn, while the delinquent $170,000 in child support came from a previous marriage. Gill was jailed 9 days for his failure to pay child support. No further reports on the domestic abuse allegations have occurred.
Kathryn accused Gill of both physical and emotional abuse: name-calling, pushing, grabbing, and threats. In response, the court issued an order of protection. Gill was prohibited from going near Kathryn, ordered to undergo a batterers’ intervention program, and prohibited from owning any firearms.
According to donation forms posted for the event by Gill, Brnovich is also receiving help from Lindsey Seitchik (nee Schauer): an Arizona-based political fundraising strategist. Some of the highlights from the Brnovich campaign flyers associated with the event emphasized his past election wins in 2014 and 2018. They also emphasized his background as the Arizona-born son of Yugoslavian refugees who fled communism, and his recent battles against the Biden Administration for election integrity, border security, and medical freedom concerning COVID-19.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
There has been much media coverage in recent months about Arizona’s nursing shortage. This summer, Phoenix-based Banner Health confirmed it was down nearly 1,400 nursing professionals at its 30 hospitals and associated medical offices across the country.
But even the prestigious Mayo Clinic—recognized as the top hospital in the United States for 2020-2021 by U.S. News & World Report—has learned that staffing issues extend far beyond the nursing ranks and into nearly every department.
As of Sunday, more than 375 jobs were advertised on the Mayo Clinic’s website. And those are only the company’s open positions in Arizona.
The reality of employment challenges facing Arizona’s medical community is forcing changes in how to attract medical professionals who may be looking to change jobs. And one hospital in Cochise County has found a creative way to garner the attention of prospective employees.
Canyon Vista Medica Center in Sierra Vista opened in 2015 as Cochise County’s only Level 3 trauma medical facility. Last week it released a recruitment video touting the wonderful work environment, although much of the video is spent showcasing Sierra Vista and Cochise County.
The video available on Facebook and LinkedIn draws attention to “the wonderful sceneries and opportunities” the region has to offer, according to CVMC spokeswoman Alexis Ramanjulu.
“Like all industries we have to be creative in how we attract new employees,” Ramanjulu explained to AZ Free News. “We hope by showcasing the place our business and healthcare heroes call home will attract medical professionals to our hospital and our part of the country.”
Such efforts are necessary despite the fact Gov. Doug Ducey announced $25 million to bolster hospital frontline staffing in November 2020, followed a few weeks later by another $60 million to address nursing shortages. The December funding pledge was matched by Ducey last month, but it could take weeks, if not months, to get that money into the hands of hospital administrators.
In the meantime, some smaller healthcare providers and medical offices have begun targeting workers at those larger companies in Arizona that are threatening to suspend or even fire medical professional for noncompliance of stringent COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
Yet hiring efforts across the state are not coming close to addressing the widespread staffing shortage. Part of the problem, according to one hospital administrator, is that such outreach efforts are often conducted by trained recruiters, which are also in short supply in Arizona.
Among those recently advertising for experienced recruiters in Arizona, are St. Luke’s Hospital (Tempe), Northwest Healthcare (Tucson), and Banner Health, which is Arizona’s largest employer.
Other companies with recruiter openings are Yavapai Regional Medical Center (Prescott), Envita Medical Center (Scottsdale), Mountain Vista Medical Center (Mesa), Northern Arizona Healthcare Corp. (Flagstaff), SpringBoard Healthcare (Phoenix), Havasu Regional Medical Center (Sacate), Tenet Healthcare (Phoenix), LifePoint Health (Lake Havasu City), Steward Health Care (Arizona City), and IASIS Healthcare (Mesa).
Dozens of organizations, government agencies, and private businesses across Arizona will benefit from more than $9.4 million in competitive grant funds awarded last week by the Arizona Office of Tourism.
The Oct. 5 announcement of the Visit Arizona Initiative Partnership grants is part of an effort to increase visitation and tourism spending in Arizona, bolster job creation, and accelerate economic recovery.
“With tourism being the hardest hit industry and still working to recover, we were really focused during this initial round on getting funds to communities that needed it most,” said Debbie Johnson, Director of the Arizona Office of Tourism. “We worked diligently through this process to provide support statewide and I’m proud to say we achieved that goal.”
The Office of Tourism reports that almost 200,000 Arizonans were employed in the tourism industry prior to COVID-19. Tourism also contributed over $3.5 billion in tax revenue to federal, state, and local economies before the pandemic.
But Arizona’s 2020 overnight visitation decreased by 31 percent and visitor spending decreased by 41 percent compared to 2019 numbers, according to Gov. Doug Ducey’s office when he announced $101.1 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds would be used to launch Visit Arizona Initiative in July.
“These grant awardees, which were selected through the Arizona Office of Tourism’s competitive process, will attract more tourism to Arizona and lead to more jobs and spending in communities throughout our state,” Ducey said last week when the funding was announced.
Those receiving grants are:
Phoenix Central Region ($3,713,558)
Arizona Basketball Coaches Association
Arizona Jewish Historical Society
Ballet Arizona
Desert Botanical Gardens/Taliesin West
Easy Dave’s
Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau
Heritage Square Foundation
International Jazz Day AZ Foundation
Musical Instrument Museum
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix Zoo
Scottsdale Fashion Square
Superior Chamber of Commerce
The Phoenix Theater Company
Town of Fountain Hills
Visit Mesa
Tucson & Southern Region ($4,670,830)
Arizona Media Arts Center
City of Sierra Vista
Graham County Chamber of Commerce
North Center Productions, Inc.
Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, Inc.
Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance
Tubac Chamber of Commerce
Tucson Bicycle Classic
University of Arizona Cycling Team
Willcox Theater and Arts, Inc.
Northern Region ($452,698)
Creative Flagstaff
Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition
Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra
Grand Canyon Music Festival
Lowell Observatory
Museum of Northern Arizona
Peak Events, LLC
North Central Region ($364,609)
Mountain Bike America, LLC
Prescott Chamber of Commerce
Sedona Arts Center
Sedona Mountain Bike Festival, LLC
West Coast Region ($235,226)
City of Kingman
Go Lake Havasu
Parker Regional Chamber of Commerce and Tourism
Yuma History Museum
In addition, the Phoenix-based event company Cloth & Flame was awarded funding under all the regions.
