The CDC reported that almost 107,000 people died from fatal drug overdoses in 2021. As far as Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is concerned, much of the blame for that lies with President Joe Biden.

According to Breitbart, Cruz recently told Fox News host Jesse Watters that Biden "is the best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels."

Cartel profits have nearly tripled since 2018

Cruz said "those who kill American citizens must be held accountable" while adding that "this wouldn’t happen if we had responsible 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 pointed out.

The Texas senator then pointed to a New York Times article published in 2022 which detailed the way Mexican criminal organizations went from making an estimated $500 million in 2018 to taking in $13 billion last year.

It also explained how cartels have diversified their operations by setting up lucrative human trafficking operations alongside traditional drug smuggling ventures.

Cruz says Mexican president sees Biden as "a wimp"

"That is what Joe Biden did," Cruz complained. "Joe Biden becoming president is the best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels."

"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," Cruz cautioned. Rather, he stressed that "the answer is to stand up to them."

"When Donald Trump was President, AMLO (Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador), who’s the same anti-American leftist then that he is now, was afraid of Donald Trump," Cruz asserted before alleging that López Obrador regards Biden as "a wimp."

"The answer is to put pressure on Mexico and have the Mexican Army show up, arrest these guys, extradite them to the United States," Cruz told Watters.

Bill would designate cartels as terror groups

"They need to be prosecuted and face the full force of American justice. And if we had a president with a scintilla of willingness to stand up to other nations, that’s exactly what would be happening right now," Cruz claimed.

Fox News reported on Wednesday that Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott have put forward a bill that would designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

The move came after the kidnapping and murder of several American citizens this week by Mexican drug cartel members.

"What happened in Mexico yesterday was a tragedy and a symptom of a larger problem stemming from the culture supported by our national leadership," Marshall told Fox News.