Reports have emerged suggesting that former President Donald Trump is contemplating a bold strategy involving the potential deployment of special-ops units into Mexico to target the upper echelons of major drug cartels, should he secure another term in office.
"When I return to the White House … we will put the cartels out of business."
-President Trumppic.twitter.com/Ac2T2M6qdK
— GOP (@GOP) May 1, 2024
Multiple sources close to Trump revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that the ex-president has expressed favor for this plan during discussions with allies, including a prominent Republican lawmaker. Trump allegedly remains undeterred by the need for Mexican government approval, questioning the delay in pursuing such a mission and asserting the superiority of the US military over cartel forces.
REPORT: Donald Trump plans to send "Assassination Squads" into Mexico to kill Cartel leaders if elected president.
🔥🔥🔥
According to a new report from the Rolling Stone, Trump told people close to him that the U.S. military has "tougher killers than they do" and doesn't care… pic.twitter.com/hpEeOZhQUN
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 8, 2024
Citing the successful raid that led to the elimination of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, Trump reportedly views covert operations as a viable means to tackle the cartel leadership. He has advocated for the creation of a “kill list of drug lords” to systematically target and eliminate them. Rolling Stone previously reported that in 2023, Trump tasked his advisors with assembling a range of military options for confronting Mexican drug cartels, including drone strikes, air assaults, troop deployments, and other measures.
In his ongoing campaign for reelection, Trump has made public commitments to leverage Special Forces, cyber warfare, and other clandestine tactics to deal a severe blow to cartel leadership, infrastructure, and operations. Throughout his presidency, Trump exerted significant pressure on the Mexican government to address what he referred to as “bad hombres” along the US-Mexico border.
Despite these efforts, Mexican cartels continue to engage in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, human smuggling, and violent skirmishes along the southern border. Federal authorities have observed a concerning trend of cartel members arming themselves with sophisticated “military-grade” weaponry.
Calls for more decisive action against Mexican drug cartels have also surfaced within the Republican Party. Senators Tom Cotton and Morgan Luttrell introduced legislation in February aimed at compelling the Biden administration to develop strategies for apprehending or neutralizing the leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as one of Mexico’s most ruthless and dangerous criminal organizations.
