The CIA reportedly killed a cartel boss in a secret operation in Mexico, the latest sign of Washington’s increased interference in Latin American security.
US President Donald Trump has made stopping drug flows across the southern border and cracking down on cartels a priority in his second term. The moves his administration has taken are unprecedented: This year alone, the US has struck dozens of boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean; ousted the former president of Venezuela it accused of running a cartel; and charged a Mexican governor with drug trafficking.
However, experts warn Washington’s renewed war on drugs could lead to more violence across Latin America, risking further migration waves to the US — thereby undermining another Trump priority.