Designating Cartels, Deploying Forces
A coordinated set of actions reclassifies major transnational traffickers as terrorist entities and pairs that legal shift with a national emergency that broadens military and federal roles at the southern…
Pressure and Presence: How New Counternarcotics Operations Rework U.S. Military Posture in the Caribbean
A recent policy package elevates counternarcotics to a higher military priority by designating major trafficking groups as terrorist entities, expanding SOUTHCOM deployments, and pairing interdictions with financial and diplomatic pressure.…
A Hard Line at Sea: How New Designations Shift America’s Counternarcotics Playbook
A recent policy package designates cartels as terrorist groups, expands military taskings in the Caribbean, and pairs new law-enforcement tools with high-profile kinetic actions. The move changes how interdictions are…
A More Militarized Border: How New Tools Aim to Cut Cartel Profits
A recent package of executive actions and funding concentrates military, financial, and diplomatic levers on drug cartels and trafficking routes. The measures designate some criminal groups for terrorism-style sanctions, expand…
Patrols, Procurements, and Pressure
A newly intensified counternarcotics drive blends legal designations, maritime strikes, and procurement reform. The administration designated cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in February, increased SOUTHCOM patrols and conducted a September…
Inside the New Anti‑Cartel Border Push: Construction, Command, and the Costs of Control
The administration’s border plan combines resumed wall construction, stepped-up port inspections across 328 entry points, expanded military support and terrorism-style designations for major cartels. Implementation uses contractor-led construction, Navy and…
Inside the New Anti‑Cartel Playbook: Ships, Sanctions, and a Narrow Path to Avoid Escalation
The administration’s Caribbean counternarcotics push combines new terror and sanctions designations for cartels with a sustained Southern Command build‑up at sea. Implementation hinges on Navy, Coast Guard, and intelligence‑driven interdictions,…