(NewsNation) — The Mexican drug cartels are now front and center in the news following the kidnapping of four Americans from South Carolina. Two of them were killed. Two others were hospitalized.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called this the final straw for coming up with a plan to combat the violence. Graham wants to label Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and receive authorization for military intervention, if needed.

“The blood of America fuels the drug cartels. I want to blow them up. Whatever it takes for as long as it takes. I don’t want to be attacked again,” Graham told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert in an interview Wednesday night.

During an announcement, Graham addressed the Mexican president, saying, “You have let your country slide into the hands of narco-terrorists … You are leaving us with no other choices.”

Javed Ali, former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, says as it stands right now, there is no authorization on the books that would allow the U.S. military to unilaterally engage in military operations across the border in Mexico.

How far can the U.S. government actually go to take out Mexican drug cartels? In the video above, Ali discusses with NewsNation host Dan Abrams.