Trump's risky plan: Special Forces vs Mexican cartels raises expert concerns

Trumpʼs future border-security leader wants to send Special Forces to fight Mexican cartels. Defense specialists point out that cartels modern weapons and tactics might make this plan too dangerous

November 29 2024 , 02:01 PM  •  598 views

Trump's risky plan: Special Forces vs Mexican cartels raises expert concerns

Donald Trump and his chosen border chief Tom Homan have a bold-but-risky plan: using Special Forces to fight Mexican cartels. Homan told Fox News theyʼll use full military power to destroy these groups‚ while Michael Waltz‚ next security adviser wants to get permission for anti-cartel operations (especially for stopping fentanyl trade)

Modern cartels arent simple drug gangs — theyʼre well-armed groups with military-grade equipment. The Sinaloa Cartel which controls north-west Mexico has:

  • assault rifles and launchers
  • modern drones and mines
  • anti-tank weapons
  • armored vehicles
  • surface-to-air missiles

Their rival group CJNG (shown in a vid from 4 years ago) has similar high-tech gear. These groups get help from ex-Mexican soldiers who learned from US trainers — making them extra-dangerous

The Cato Institute expert Brandan Buck thinks its a bad idea: cartels can fight like Taliban did using hit-and-run attacks local support and hard terrain. They work in cities which makes fighting harder and puts normal people at risk

Legal stuff is tricky too — Marco Rubio‚ picked for state secretary job would need to convince UN that its self-defense or make a deal with Mexico. Getting permission means changing their laws which dont allow foreign troops. Even though Trump is good at deals this might be too hard to do