VOA标准英语 US Blacklists Three Mexican Drug Cartels

The United States is taking action against three Mexican drug cartels. The news comes as President Barack Obama prepares to travel to Mexico on Thursday for talks with President Felipe Calderon.

The drug-related violence plaguing Mexico, particularly along the U.S. border, is likely to dominate the discussions in Mexico City.

President Obama has praised efforts by the Mexican government to stand up to the drug cartels. And on the eve of the talks, he showed America's commitment to do the same.
　
White House Press Sec. Robert Gibbs speaks to reporters in the White House press room, 15 Apr 2009

He added three Mexican groups to the U.S. government's blacklist of drug syndicates.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs made the official announcement.

"Earlier today, the president designated three Mexican organizations under the Foreign Narcotics¹ Kingpin Designation Act. The three organizations are the Sinaloa cartel, Los Zetas and La Familia Michoacana," he announced.

Gibbs said the move underscores America's intent to attack the financial underpinnings of the Mexican drug cartels, which generate billions of dollars in revenue each year.

He said the Treasury² Department now has the authority to block or seize any assets, accounts or securities under U.S. jurisdiction³ held by these organizations or anyone acting⁴ on their behalf.

Usually, the White House puts out an annual list of suspected drug kingpins on or about June 1, as required by law. But Gibbs said the president had the right to act now to sanction these three Mexican groups because the need is urgent.

"That is the case today. And it is the first time any president has acted outside the June 1 time frame," he said.
　
A 2006 file photo of State Education Sec. Alan Bersin (L) during a meeting of the Board of Education in Sacramento, CA

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has picked a former federal prosecutor⁵ to coordinate⁶ efforts to end drug violence along the U.S.-Mexico border and slow the tide of illegal immigration.

Alan Bersin worked at the Justice Department in the 1990s and led a government crackdown on illegal immigrants at the California-Mexico border, known as Operation Gatekeeper.

1 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

6 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。