US mulls drone strikes on Mexican cartels

Agencies WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump's administration is considering drone strikes on drug cartels in Mexico to combat trafficking across the southern border, NBC News reported on Tuesday. The Trump administration is considering launching drone strikes on drug cartels in Mexico as part of an ambitious effort to combat criminal gangs trafficking narcotics across the southern border, according to six current and former  US military, law enforcement and intelligence officials with knowledge of the matter. Discussions among White House, Defence Department and intelligence officials, which are still at an early stage.

An unilateral covert action, without Mexico’s consent, has not been ruled out and could be an option of last resort, the sources said. It is unclear whether American officials have floated the possibility of drone strikes to the Mexican government. But  the administration has made no final decision. and reached no definitive agreement about countering the cartels.

If Mexico and the United States proceed together with drone strikes or other action, it would not be the first time they have launched a joint effort to take on the cartels, nor would it be the first time that American military and intelligence worked in concert with Mexico’s law enforcement and army. But what the Trump administration is contemplating could be unprecedented both in the number of US personnel involved and in the use of American unmanned aircraft to bomb cartel personnel and assets.

The U.S. military and the CIA have dramatically stepped up surveillance flights over Mexico to collect intelligence in advance of what is likely to be a major campaign against the cartels, which the White House has labeled a threat to national security, the six sources said. The flights are being carried out with Mexico’s approval, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said.

“They’re looking to build a target deck,” one of the former officials, who is familiar with the administration’s plans, said of the surveillance flights. The potential target list most likely could include cartel operatives, vehicles, warehouses and other parts of the gangs’ network, the sources said. The White House National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment. The office of Mexico’s president and the Foreign Affairs Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.