Mexican cartels have received the green light to respond with prejudice to an anti-immigrant executive order issued by Donald Trump.
The 47th US President used one of his hundreds of executive actions last week to declare cartel organisations foreign terrorist groups, a move meant to aid his administration’s war against immigration on the southern border. While enthusiastically hailed by American conservatives, the order has also sparked controversy, with experts warning of splashback on US companies and possible retaliation.
Some of those predicted scenarios have now materialised just a week later, with cartels having engaged with US forces in cross-border skirmishes. The fighting follows reports that bosses have granted the “green light” for them to open fire on US federal officers in retaliation to the border crackdown.
Teader and founder of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, is said to be “preparing” the cartel to face up to Trump. The CJNG has reportedly armed itself with high-calibre weapons, among then RPG missile launches, since Trump’s return to the White House was confirmed.
Cervantes, according to journalist and podcaster Anabel Hernández, plans to call a special meeting with his bosses that will instruct them on how to prepare for potential attacks by law enforcement, with the leader reportedly expecting “covert operations by the Trump administration”.
Anna Giaritelli a reporter for the Washington Examiner, said on Monday she had received reports from law enforcement officials that cartel chiefs had granted the “green light” for cartels to engage the US on January 21, a day after Trump issued his executive order. She wrote on X, formerly Twitter : “Two LEO officials tell me that the Mexican cartels as of Jan 21 put a ‘green light’ to open fire on US federal law enforcement in retaliation for the border crackdown in Washington that Trump has waged.”
“Trump’s crackdown will cost the cartels billions of $ annually.” It has since been confirmed that Border Patrol agents in Texas were fired upon from across the border by “suspected cartel gunmen”, with agents returning fire. Footage has since shown masked thugs firing on a US drone the guards released following the clash.
The border skirmishes have landed following massive new activity at the US-Mexico border, with Donald Trump having complemented his executive action with thousands of US troops. The US Department of Defence has sent 1,500 active-duty service members, air and intelligence assets to the southern border since the emergency was declared in the area.
The surge in active-duty troops marks a 60 percent increase, and brings the total to 2,500 as the Trump administration carries out its mass deportations. Experts have warned that US intervention should go no further than its own borders, however, as moving on Mexican territory would prove dangerous.
Speaking to The Guardian, Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, said cartel responses against raids or airstrikes ordered by the US could land on tourists or diplomats visiting Mexico. He added the retaliation could also extend to soldiers carrying out the President’s orders, or even strike further into American territory.
He said: “There is certainly a possibility that airstrikes and raids could eventually occur. Cartels may retaliate by hitting soft targets such as tourists or diplomatic targets in Mexico, possibly the soldiers the Trump administration is deploying at the shared border, or even tap networks inside the US itself.”
