Reaffirming the United States commitment to respecting the sovereignty of Mexico and condemning calls for military action in Mexico without Mexico's consent and congressional authorization.

This resolution expresses respect for the sovereignty of Mexico and condemns calls for military action in Mexico without Mexico's consent. The resolution also states that while the President has the inherent power to repel sudden attacks, the manufacture and sale of fentanyl does not constitute such a sudden attack or an armed invasion.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 763 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 763

Reaffirming the United States commitment to respecting the sovereignty 
 of Mexico and condemning calls for military action in Mexico without 
           Mexico's consent and congressional authorization.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2023

     Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Mr. Casar, Ms. Omar, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Espaillat, 
Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Titus, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. 
McGovern, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Gomez, Mr. 
Robert Garcia of California, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Carson, Mr. 
Lieu, Mrs. Torres of California, Ms. Norton, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Garcia of 
   Texas, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. 
Bowman, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Blumenauer, and Ms. Barragan) 
                   submitted the following resolution

                            October 25, 2023

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Reaffirming the United States commitment to respecting the sovereignty 
 of Mexico and condemning calls for military action in Mexico without 
           Mexico's consent and congressional authorization.

Whereas Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, to which the United 
        States is a party, states, ``All Members shall refrain in their 
        international relations from the threat or use of force against the 
        territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any 
        other manner . . .'';
Whereas the Charter of the Organization of American States, to which the United 
        States is a party, Article 3(h) of Chapter III states, ``An act of 
        aggression against one American State is an act of aggression against 
        all the other American States'', and Article 3(i) states, 
        ``Controversies of an international character arising between two or 
        more American States shall be settled by peaceful procedures'';
Whereas Article 19 of the Charter of the Organization of American States 
        declares, ``No State or group of States has the right to intervene, 
        directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or 
        external affairs of any other State. The foregoing principle prohibits 
        not only armed force but also any other form of interference or 
        attempted threat against the personality of the State or against its 
        political, economic, and cultural elements'';
Whereas Article 22 of the Charter of the Organization of American States 
        declares, ``The American States bind themselves in their international 
        relations not to have recourse to the use of force, except in the case 
        of self defense in accordance with existing treaties or in fulfillment 
        thereof''; and
Whereas the United States and Mexico have cooperated for several decades on a 
        variety of issues such as trade, investment, counter-narcotics, 
        migration, rule of law, and security, including through recent high-
        level security and economic dialogues: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) respects the sovereignty of Mexico, as protected by the 
        principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter 
        of the Organization of American States;
            (2) rejects the use of military force by the United States 
        against entities based in Mexico, including transnational 
        criminal organizations, if conducted without the consent of the 
        Mexican Government and without an explicit authorization for 
        the use of military force enacted by Congress;
            (3) condemns calls for military action in Mexico without 
        the consent of the Mexican Government and proper congressional 
        authorization;
            (4) recognizes that any act of aggression on Mexico's 
        sovereign territory without their consent could be considered 
        an act of war and a violation of international law;
            (5) reinforces that any actions by the President to engage 
        in hostilities in Mexico without congressional authorization 
        and for purposes other than repelling a sudden attack would 
        violate the constitutional separation of powers and implicate 
        the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.);
            (6) recognizes that any designation of an entity, including 
        transnational criminal organizations, as a foreign terrorist 
        organization under United States law on its own does not 
        provide the President the authority to conduct military actions 
        against that entity;
            (7) reaffirms the President's inherent power to repel 
        sudden attacks on United States persons and territory while 
        noting that the manufacture, transportation, and sale of 
        fentanyl and related chemical compounds is not considered an 
        armed invasion or sudden attack by a foreign adversary and 
        should not serve as the basis for using military force without 
        congressional authorization; and
            (8) calls on continued United States engagement with Mexico 
        and strong bilateral relations to support productive and 
        effective means of combating rising crime, violence, and drug 
        trafficking.
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