June 30, 2025
American Families Against Cartel Terrorism (AmFACT) will empower victims’ family members to share their stories; advocate for policy changes to protect Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Americans who lost loved ones to ruthless cartel violence launched a new coalition, American Families Against Cartel Terrorism (AmFACT). AmFACT will highlight the dangers Mexican drug cartels pose to U.S. citizens, advocate for solutions to combat the cartels, keep Americans safe, and empower family members to seek justice.
The coalition is composed of leading voices in the fight against cartel violence, including those who survived and lost loved ones in the November 2019 La Mora massacre of U.S. citizens carried out by the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea, and family members of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was tortured and killed by the Sinaloa cartel in 1985.
Today, several AmFACT members sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for the Juárez Cartel and La Línea to be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (“FTOs”), which will equip federal agencies with stronger tools to hold these cartels accountable for their crimes and put their financial networks in the U.S. on notice that they too will be held responsible for enabling cartel operations. Secretary Rubio already designated eight cartels as FTOs earlier this year.
“Mexican cartels are criminal organizations that traffic in death and destruction, and they threaten the safety of families across the United States,” said AmFACT President Adriana Jones, whose sister Maria “Rhonita” LeBaron was shot and burned to death with four of her children, Howard Miller Jr., 12, Krystal Miller, 10, and Titus and Tiana Miller, 8-month-old twins, in the November 2019 La Mora cartel massacre. “AmFACT is giving survivors and families a voice, so no one else has to endure the pain, terror, and heartbreak that we’ve lived through.”
“On November 4, 2019, I came face to face with the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea, as they sprayed our family with thousands of bullets,” said AmFACT member Devin Langford, a survivor of the 2019 cartel massacre. “I can never bring back my mother and siblings, but I can speak out so that no American should have to fear Mexican drug cartel violence.”
In March of 2025, the U.S. Intelligence Community identified Mexican drug cartels as a top threat to U.S. national security. The cartels have a long, well-documented history of trafficking drugs across our borders and spreading terror in their wake. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked by cartels are responsible for the deaths of more than 52,000 Americans annually.
“It has been 40 years since the Sinaloa Cartel kidnapped, tortured, and murdered my husband, who dedicated his life to protecting our country from traffickers and violence,” said AmFACT member Geneva “Mika” Camarena, widow of Kiki Camarena. “Now, AmFACT is continuing his fight so that we can deliver justice to families impacted by cartel violence.”
Mexican cartel criminal enterprises extend beyond narcotics. Cartels also profit from human smuggling and trafficking, particularly of women and children, and have expanded into kidnapping, extortion, and other violent criminal enterprises, turning American communities into zones of fear and lawlessness. At the border, law enforcement officers face an evolving warzone, including shootouts and the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) reminiscent of the war in Iraq.
“My brother was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered while protecting Americans from the horrors of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said AmFACT member Myrna Camarena, sister of Kiki Camarena. “Far too many Americans have suffered similar fates. That’s why AmFACT is uniting victims and survivors of Mexican cartel terrorism to demand justice and finally stop this decades-long strategy of horrific violence.”
AmFACT will fight to ensure that families impacted by cartel violence receive the justice they deserve, and that all Americans can live free from the fear and destruction inflicted by cartel terror.
###
About American Families Against Cartel Terrorism
American Families Against Cartel Terrorism (AmFACT) is a coalition of family members who have lost loved ones to cartel violence, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. Together, the families share a commitment to keeping Americans safe from the horrifying brutality of Mexican drug and human trafficking cartels. AmFACT is committed to delivering justice to American family members who have lost their loved ones – our fellow U.S. citizens – to Mexican cartel violence, drug trafficking, and human trafficking by keeping Americans safe from cartels. We inform the conversation about the dangers Mexican drug and human trafficking cartels pose to American citizens, share policy solutions to combat the cartels, and empower family members to share their stories with the press and the public. To learn more about AmFACT, visit our website https://amfact.org/ and follow us on X @AmFACTorg.