The CIA’s Cartel Campaign

Mexico is becoming a laboratory for a new phase of irregular warfare. 

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez, and Mauricio Torres report in “Exclusive: CIA escalates secret war on cartels with deadly operations inside Mexico” that CIA Ground Branch teams have moved beyond intelligence support and into lethal targeting operations against cartel networks on the territory of our southern neighbor. Mid-level operators are now part of the target set. The campaign reportedly mirrors counterterrorism missions once associated with Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

“The administration has been putting the pieces in place for an expanded and more lethal CIA presence in Mexico since the earliest days of Trump’s second term, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe focused on expanding the agency’s role in counter-cartel missions and related covert operations since he was tapped for the job, a source familiar with his efforts previously told CNN.”

That shift raises bigger questions than one covert action program:

• How does sovereignty hold up when foreign intelligence services operate in the gray space between partnership and unilateral action?

And:

• What comes after decapitation strikes if corruption, logistics, and recruitment pipelines remain intact?

The piece also highlights a growing crisis of trust between Washington and Mexico City. Intelligence cooperation appears increasingly fragmented, routed through regional actors and vetted networks rather than federal institutions.

“Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was not told beforehand about the CIA’s participation in the meth lab operation in Chihuahua and appeared furious in the aftermath. “There cannot be agents from any US government institution operating in the Mexican field,” she said at a news conference after the incident became public.”

The border may no longer separate domestic security from overseas operations. And this comes with risks for those involved, not to mention any spillover effects. 

“‘Ground Branch is very good at not getting killed by the guys they work with,’ the former CIA paramilitary officer said. ‘But the one place we really worry about getting whacked is Mexico. The Mexican military and police are infiltrated by the cartels. And the attack in 2012 still affects the way the agency looks at the situation there now.’”