Arizona governor signs order 'to combat the cartels' and 'stop drug smuggling'

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has signed an order “to combat the cartels, stop drug smuggling, and secure Arizona’s border,” the governor said in a Tuesday news release.

The executive order requires a joint task force named “Operation Desert Guardian” to be set up by the Grand Canyon State’s Department of Public Safety, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Emergency and Military Affairs “focused on the identification, deterrence, interdiction, and dismantling of” transnational criminal organizations.

The Arizona Department of Homeland Security is also required to bring together the task force “and ensure a coordinated, collaborative strategy with state agencies as well as county sheriffs, local law enforcement agencies, and federal law enforcement agencies who join” it.

“I’m proud to launch Operation Desert Guardian to combat the cartels, stop drug smuggling and human trafficking, and secure Arizona’s border,” Hobbs said in the release. “My administration has been in contact with the federal government and local sheriffs about the Operation, its critical objectives, and our shared commitment to keeping criminals and drugs out of Arizona’s communities.”

In November, Hobbs said she would “work with the Trump administration to continue efforts on border security.”

However, asked about Trump’s pledge of mass deportations, she said she “will not tolerate misguided policies that don’t actually help with the critical work that’s happening here, that you’re seeing here today, that actually keeps our communities safe and secure.

“I will not tolerate terrorizing communities or threatening Arizonans,” she added.

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