Former Secret Service agent and security expert Charles Marino told Newsmax on Tuesday that the Trump administration is deploying a "multifaceted strategy" against drug cartels in Mexico and Central and South America.
Appearing on "American Agenda," Marino said that the recent takedown of a cartel leader in Mexico had supporting U.S. military involvement.
"I have always said this is a multifaceted strategy," Marino noted, "where the U.S. government's firing on all cylinders: [It] designated the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, increased the pressure on the cartels based on that designation, and increased the pressure on countries like Mexico to go forth with the operations that we saw just this past weekend against the Jalisco cartel."
Widespread cartel-supported violence erupted in Mexico following the death of Mexico's most wanted cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho."
Marino said, on U.S. involvement, "This is very, very important: We're sharing intelligence; we're sharing training.
"We're helping in every way possible with the exception of putting boots on the ground."
He added that the leadership of President Donald Trump is key. "And that's got us in a much better place than we were under the Biden administration," said Marino.
He said that Trump knows enough to withhold making a claim this evening during the State of the Union address to Congress that everything is under control.
"I don't think we're going to hear him declare mission accomplished," Marino said. "He knows that there's still a lot more work to do against the cartels and the safety and security within the United States."
Marino said, however, that everything is moving in the right direction. "But his strategy has had great successes in the first year. And it's about border security."
"It's about removing those public safety and national security threats from the interior of the country."
Mexican military leaders ordered as many as 2,000 troops to the western state of Jalisco to help control the violence after the death of Oseguera.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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