Other experts pointed out that past efforts to deploy military might against drug traffickers have failed to slow the flow of drugs into the United States. When the Mexican government declared war on cartels in 2006 and sent soldiers into the streets to fight them, the clearest result was a massive increase in homicides.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explore designating major cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” Early this month, Rubio moved to designate six Mexican cartels and two other groups as FTOs.

The State Department has declared several Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk floating the idea of drone strikes