By Crystal Langford
November 6, 2025
Six years ago on Nov. 4, I got a call I’ll never forget. My mother and nine of my siblings were ambushed by the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea. They were innocent victims of the brutal Mexican drug and human trafficking industry.
Disbelief and grief set in as the details trickled in. Hundreds of bullets. Cars burnt with passengers inside. I was told there were survivors, but I didn’t know who. One of my brothers, Devin, just 13 at the time, walked 14 miles through the desert to get help. Another brother was shot in the jaw and had to fight every second to stay alive. I soon learned that my mother, Dawna, and my two younger brothers, Trevor and Rogan, were among the nine victims that had been murdered in that horrible attack.
Although we buried the remains of our loved ones six years ago, we live every day with the weight of their loss, and with the determination to make sure their deaths were not in vain. I am grateful for the leadership of President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio on this issue. On the anniversary of my family’s massacre, I ask that President Trump and Secretary Rubio get us closer to justice by adding the Juárez Cartel and La Línea, the monsters responsible for slaughtering my family, to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations designated at the beginning of this Administration.
What happened to my family was not a random act of violence – it was the deliberate work of Mexican cartels that profit from death and fear. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked by cartels are responsible for the deaths of more than 52,000 Americans each year. These criminal networks smuggle humans, traffic weapons, and spread terror across our border and into the interior of the U.S. Law enforcement, both at our border and in cities and towns across our country, now face this terror, marked by shootouts and assassinations.
For years, I asked myself how something so evil could happen to good, innocent people. My mom was a light to everyone she met – a loving mother, a caretaker, and a woman of unshakable faith. My siblings were supposed to grow up, serve their communities, and create families of their own. And I know the only way to honor their memory is to speak out and fight back.
That’s why I joined AmFACT (American Families Against Cartel Terrorism). Our mission is simple: to seek justice for American families whose loved ones were stolen by cartel violence and to stop these murderers from ever doing it again.
Earlier this year, under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the U.S. took a historic step forward when it designated eight Latin American cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This action gives law enforcement and government agencies more power to freeze assets, sanction leaders, and prosecute anyone aiding cartel terrorists. The Treasury Department has already used these authorities to target cartel financiers fueling the violence and drugs poisoning our communities. But our country can and must do more.
The despicable Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea must be added to the Designated Foreign Terrorists list and not given a free pass. This is not just to bring justice to my family – it’s about showing all Mexican cartels once and for all that we will not stand for senseless killing of Americans. Continued delays allow these monsters to profit from evil, strengthen their recruitment networks, and terrorize our communities.
My mother believed in doing what was right, no matter the cost. Now it’s our turn. We must call on our leaders to confront these terrorist organizations head-on and protect our communities from further harm. Only then can we bring justice to the innocent lives they’ve destroyed and ensure no other family endures what mine has suffered.