(NewsNation) — Republican presidential candidates and members of Congress are taking a controversial approach to take on drug cartels — sending the U.S. military into Mexico.
For decades, the drug war has included covert U.S. operations inside Mexico aimed at monitoring cartel activity, as well as various instances of military surges along the American border.
The idea of deploying the U.S. military into Mexico as a means to combat cartels has garnered support from Republican senators like Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ohio’s J.D. Vance, along with a few other members of Congress, and the top two GOP presidential nominees.
On Capitol Hill, a bill has been introduced that proposes formally declaring war on the cartels, which could potentially enable actions such as the dropping of bombs on targets within Mexico.
Former President Donald Trump has proposed implementing a naval blockade. This idea was highlighted following the recent incident where Mexico’s naval forces captured a submarine.
The “narco sub” was leaving from the coast of Mexico City, carrying an estimated three and a half tons of a substance suspected to be cocaine.
GOP opponent Ron DeSantis also supports lethal force in repelling the cartel-fueled drug supply that has claimed thousands of American lives. “Look, we’re going to use whatever leverage we have to ensure that this issue is brought to a conclusion,” DeSantis said.
U.S. military involvement is warranted and could prove to be effective in curbing the cartel-fueled drug supply that’s claimed thousands of American lives, according to one cartel expert.
“The same way that we go after terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of the world, that’s the same way we’re going to go after the Mexican cartel leaders and the Mexican cartel,” said Robert Almonte, a former U.S. Marshal. “I think it’s very important for people to realize that. We won’t be invading Mexico, that’s not going to happen. From our side of the border, we would strategically target and attack the Mexican cartel in a similar matter that we go after terrorists around the world in that by using drones and sending missiles and blowing them up and killing them.”
Evidence indicates a potential increase in illegal underwater border crossings. A recent Yuma, Arizona sector led U.S. border agents to the rescue and apprehend a Mexican national attempting to scuba dive across the Colorado River.
According to a source who spoke with NewsNation’s Ali Bradley, the migrant was with another man, and neither knew how to swim. As a result, both individuals were processed to return to Mexico.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has rebuffed the idea of U.S. military action in their territory.
Critics argue that any action without cooperation could be considered an act of war.
However, supporters argue such operations would be directed against the cartels rather than Mexico itself.