Mexico extradites drug chiefs to US as it seeks to appease Trump on fentanyl

Trump officials are divided over whether to intervene militarily against Mexico’s drug cartels or collaborate with the Mexican government in an attempt to dismantle the infamous organized crime syndicates, The New York Times reported. Amid the split, a senior Mexican delegation arrived in Washington on Thursday to discuss a concrete security agreement, but vague ultimatums and unclear demands from Washington have only led to confusion, The Times wrote. Meanwhile, the “stakes for Mexico could not be higher,” with the administration’s move to designate six cartels as terrorist organizations paving the way for potential Pentagon or intelligence-related actions. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that her country would not tolerate an “invasion” of its national sovereignty, The Guardian reported.

The Trump administration has moved in the past month to increase aerial surveillance across Mexico using spy planes and mobilize more military personnel to the Southern border, which together with the cartel terrorist designation pave the way for what one Trump official in November called a “soft invasion” of Mexico. This could include anything from cyber warfare to drone strikes to covertly assassinate criminal leaders, Rolling Stone reported. However, within Mexico, the cartels have so far appeared unfazed: A former US Army intelligence officer told the magazine that there is a “delusion” that any action against them would involve Mexico, and that their government would give them “a heads up beforehand.”