![](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhsMP9Ex89aOjshLahCdNFJb0N2XJPA-Ldo0_nNQQ8UVdfb4ZhVTjBEnaMSxlUNQrVuHNd-pRj18W83OA4jm5Cikh3M7obM62DE4-EpRZS_gvfLV25Ls5VtovKaE6rPkhdAUD-WLO20d8gCfHUbH4UaNB2Nu2MW67GKf1HpveEdFZYJ4Rd5aM7OKsjquID1\/s1536\/COMMENTARY%202-%20CIA%20MEXICO%20DRUG%20CARTEL.png\")
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In recent days, as reported by Anadolu <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>What deserves closer attention here at <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>This wasn\u2019t some casual tip slid across a <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For a lot of Americans, drug cartels still <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The decision to provide this level of <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Still, Americans shouldn\u2019t rush to call <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s a bigger strategic issue here, <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>What this really shows is that America\u2019s <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The fact that U.S. intelligence helped <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Robert \u00a0 CIA vs. Drug Cartels: A National Secuirty Reckoning \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In recent days, as reported by Anadolu Agency in its article \u201cCIA provides intel to Mexico on location of cartel leader: Report,\u201d one of the most powerful figures in the Western Hemisphere\u2019s criminal underworld, the head of Mexico\u2019s Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as \u201cEl … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantusintel.group\/osint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAgency in its article \u201cCIA provides intel to Mexico on location of cartel
\nleader: Report,\u201d one of the most powerful figures in the Western Hemisphere\u2019s
\ncriminal underworld, the head of Mexico\u2019s Jalisco New Generation Cartel known
\nas \u201cEl Mencho,\u201d was located and killed by Mexican forces after a long manhunt. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nhome is the role played by the U.S. intelligence community in making that
\npossible, as senior officials acknowledged the CIA supplied key intelligence
\nthat helped Mexican authorities pinpoint his location by tracking his contacts,
\nmovements, and communication patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ndesk. Officials familiar with the operation have said the U.S. role was
\ninstrumental. Put simply, without American intelligence, Mexican forces might
\nnot have found him when they did. The information reportedly came from a mix of
\nhuman sources, surveillance, and signals intelligence that mapped his network
\nand exposed weak spots in his security. That kind of involvement shows a deeper
\nshift in how Washington sees major cartels. They\u2019re no longer viewed as just criminal
\noutfits for law enforcement to handle. They\u2019re increasingly treated as
\ntransnational threats with real national security stakes.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nseem like a far-off problem, something kept on the other side of the border.
\nThat thinking is outdated. Groups like the Jalisco cartel sit at the heart of
\nthe fentanyl pipeline driving the overdose crisis in cities and small towns
\nacross the U.S. The same networks moving drugs also traffic weapons, wash money
\nthrough global financial systems, and corrupt officials on both sides of the
\nborder. When intelligence agencies use high-end tools to track cartel leaders,
\nit\u2019s a clear sign the threat has moved squarely into homeland security
\nterritory.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nintelligence support underscores how seriously Washington now takes the
\ndestabilizing impact of cartel activity. Over the past several years, the U.S.
\ngovernment has elevated certain cartels to a status comparable to foreign
\nterrorist organizations in terms of strategic concern. That shift unlocks
\nbroader surveillance authorities and deeper intelligence collaboration. It also
\nblurs the line between traditional law enforcement and national security
\noperations. When the CIA is helping track a cartel boss, it is a sign that the
\nthreat is being viewed through a geopolitical lens, not just a criminal one.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthis a clean win. Taking out a cartel boss doesn\u2019t make the whole network
\ndisappear. We\u2019ve seen this before. When you cut off the head, a power vacuum
\nopens up. Rival factions start fighting for control, and things can get even
\nuglier. In the short term, that can mean more violence in Mexico, tension near
\nthe U.S. border, and greater risks for Americans traveling or working there.
\nOver time, splintered groups can be tougher to track, more unpredictable, and
\neven more aggressive about pushing drugs north to keep the money flowing.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ntoo. The U.S. relies on Mexico to act on the intelligence that the CIA collects.
\nMexico wants to lead operations on its own soil, so Washington can\u2019t just step
\nin on its own without triggering serious diplomatic fallout. That limits what
\nthe U.S. can do and makes real cooperation essential. If political tensions
\nflare up or trust starts to slip, intelligence sharing could slow down, and
\nthat would give cartels breathing room to regroup.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nnational security problems aren\u2019t just happening on far-off battlefields
\nanymore. Criminal networks operating just south of our border can hurt U.S.
\ncommunities on a scale that rivals more traditional threats. The overdose
\ncrisis alone kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. That\u2019s not some
\nabstract number. It\u2019s a slow, steady hit to public health, local economies, and
\nthe basic fabric of communities across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ntrack down a cartel boss is both progress and a warning. It shows Washington is
\nwilling to use serious tools against these cross-border crime networks. But it
\nalso makes clear how tied our security is to what happens beyond our borders.
\nReal success won\u2019t come from taking out one leader. It\u2019s going to take steady
\npressure, strong partnerships, and a clear-eyed understanding that organized
\ncrime in this hemisphere isn\u2019t someone else\u2019s problem. It\u2019s a national security
\nissue sitting right on America\u2019s doorstep.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nMorton<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence
\nOfficers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also
\nwrites the full-length Corey
\nPearson- CIA Spymaster Series<\/b><\/a>, which blends his knowledge of real-life
\nintelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers
\nreveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"