ICE watchdogs chortle as MAGA Sen. Mike Lee deletes post linking masks to cartels

Driving the news: "Cartel hitmen wear masks," Lee wrote above a video showing three armed men, one masked, setting a gas station ablaze. "Leftists aren't complaining."

• The video footage shows a reported gas station attack in Mexico amid unrest over the killing of the prominent drug lord known as "El Mencho."

A spokesperson for the Utah Republican did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Lee's implied disapproval of face masks won enthusiastic agreement from Democrats and other MAGA critics in Utah and nationally.

• "Yes. Cartel hitmen wear masks. That's why ICE shouldn't," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote.
• Lee deleted the post at some point after a flood of responses Sunday night.

Catch up quick: Lee has previously defended immigration agents' use of masks.

Context: The killing of "El Mencho," whose name is Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, by Mexican security forces on Sunday spurred retaliatory cartel violence across the nation.

• In response, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico urged U.S. citizens in multiple cities, many of which are tourist hubs, to "shelter in place until further notice."
• In an X post, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the U.S. provided intelligence to assist with the operation.

Oseguera Cervantes was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful drug gangs, widely known for their use of improvised explosive devices, displaying executed bodies in public and exporting drugs into the U.S.

• The group is labeled a designated terrorist organization in the U.S.

Flashback: A long shot proposal by Democratic state Sen. Nate Blouin — who is running for Utah's newly drawn 1st Congressional District — would have barred federal immigration agents from wearing masks during local operations.

Yes, but: The bill stalled in committee and is unlikely to advance this year.