Trump Ready To Launch Drone Strikes At Mexican Cartels

Will he work with Mexican authorities to do it? I have been covering this developing issue for quite a while, and things appear to be finally getting real.

President Trump’s pressure campaign on Mexico appears to be paying off.

Team Trump seems increasingly ready to launch U.S. drone strikes on deadly Mexican drug cartels (now designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations—FTOs) as part of his effort to secure the southern border and combat violent criminal gangs trafficking people and narcotics into the United States.

I think the idea of taking the fight directly to the cartels is long overdue.

But any U.S. military actions into Mexico must be conducted carefully. And ideally, with at least tacit Mexican government support. Thankfully, that’s what Trump’s team appears to be considering. Even though unilateral covert action, without Mexico’s consent, has not been ruled out and could be seen as a measure of last resort.

President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Mexico has refused to rule out unilateral U.S. military action. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly warned Mexican officials privately about that possibility. Both have said “all cards are on the table” when it comes to combating the cartels.

Unilateral U.S. military actions inside Mexico without the government’s consent would arguably violate international law, but both Democratic and Republican administrations have argued that the U.S. has a right to act against threats within a country that cannot control its own security.

Trump officials argue that his refusal to publicly rule out unilateral military action, coupled with tariffs and other coercive measures, could push Mexico to accept joint operations that it would have previously rejected.

A senior Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official in the Biden administration, said Trump has already pushed Mexico to take much tougher action against the cartels after what he called “handwringing” by Biden’s team.

“Politics aside, Trump is not f—— around with this stuff,” he said.

What might the attacks look like? Well, they would likely be drone strikes against cartel figures and their logistical networks in Mexico. The administration has already been shifting military, intelligence and law enforcement resources toward combating the cartels.

NBC News reported:

If Mexico and the United States proceed together with drone strikes or other action, it would not be the first time they have launched a joint effort to take on the cartels, nor would it be the first time that American military and intelligence worked in concert with Mexico’s law enforcement and army.

But what the Trump administration is contemplating could be unprecedented both in the number of U.S. personnel involved and in the use of American unmanned aircraft to bomb cartel personnel and assets.

So far, as I have previously noted, the U.S. military and the CIA have dramatically stepped up aerial and other surveillance over Mexico to collect intelligence ahead of what could be a major campaign against the cartels. The flights are being carried out with Mexico’s approval, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said.

Sheinbaum began ramping up counter cartel enforcement efforts when she took office in early October during the end of Joe Biden’s term. This, after years of a hands-off approach under former President Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador.

And what are the surveillance flights for? NBC News added: “They’re looking to build a target deck,” one former national security official said. That target list will likely include senior cartel operatives, vehicles, warehouses and other parts of their networks.

More on how these strikes, and other possible U.S. military actions that may unfold, will come later.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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