In a momentous shift that could have far reaching political implications, President Biden has officially ordered the expulsion of 45 members of the Santos Organization, a powerful drug cartel based in Mexico, from the United States. The move has put the Democratic Party on the spot, forcing them to confront a long standing issue that has yet to be adequately addressed: the issue of men’s violence against women.
The Santos Organization has been accused of numerous heinous crimes, including trafficking women and girls, money laundering, and various homicides, prompting the White House to designate them a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO). The expulsion order earlier this week came in response to the horrifying discovery of mass graves containing the skeletal remains of at least seven women in an abandoned house in Tamaulipas.
In the midst of this tragedy, the Democratic Party now finds itself facing a difficult balancing act. On one hand, they must condemn the terrible actions of the Santos Organization and forcefully make the case that there can be no impunity for those responsible. On the other hand, they must grapple with how to tackle the global scourge of gendered violence and the impunity surrounding it.
The party’s track record on this matter has been mixed, and the indefinite nature of the Santos expulsion order means that Democrats must grapple with the larger, more complex issue of reforming policies to strengthen the legal and criminal accountability for perpetrators of violence. Although the party’s actions to date, which include passing the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, are certainly laudable, more needs to be done to ensure the safety and security of all people, regardless of their gender.
In particular, Democrats must continue to press for robust governmental funding to support services that aid survivors of gendered violence, such as specialized shelters, community education programs, and long-term counseling.
The Santos expulsion order represents a decisive move to finally hold accountable a major perpetrator of gendered violence. Consequently, the Democratic Party should take this as an opportunity to amplify the political pressure to deal with this issue both domestically and internationally. As the Biden Admnistration works to create an effective response to the ongoing threat from the Santos Organization, Democrats can and should push for real and lasting reforms to end the worrying normalization of gender-based violence everywhere.