(NewsNation) — U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Angus King are introducing legislation that aims to have the U.S. train the Mexican military to fight against Mexican drug cartels.
Under the “Partners Act,” the Department of Defense would create a pilot program to bring Mexican troops to the U.S. for training on how to combat Mexican drug cartels.
Cornyn said he wants to see more collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. He met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador earlier this year about cross-border issues including stopping the flow of drug trafficking into the U.S.
The legislation also comes at a time where the talks of designating Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations have increased among lawmakers. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., discussed the issue with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo.
“China is sending the raw products in. The cartel is basically processing it and basically poisoning our country,” Manchin said. “And, what are we doing? We’ve got special ops. We’ve got people who can take care of that. And the Mexican government’s going to know, if you’re not going to do it, we’re going to do it.”
It’s unclear if Mexican officials would cooperate in the proposition. Obrador has spoken out against the U.S. labeling Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and has gone against he notion of having U.S. troops on Mexican soil fighting cartels.