Trump's New Drug Czar Does Not Rule Out Deployment Of U.S. Troops To Mexico, Says He 'Will Do What He Needs To Do'

Sara Carter, the Trump administration's new drug czar, didn't rule out a deployment of U.S. troops to Mexico to fight cartels, saying the decision lies with the president.

"He has said that in public, and I'm with the president. He will make his decisions when those decisions come to pass," Carter said, adding that Trump "will do what he has to do."

The official made the remark during an appearance at the U.S.-Mexico border, where she vowed to seal the southern border against illicit activity such as drug and human trafficking and to push cartels out of the United States. "To the cartels, we want to send them a message: Your days are numbered," she said.

Trump has repeatedly anticipated "land" attacks against the criminal organizations in the neighboring country. Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected the notion, but given the possibility that such a scenario, but recent reports show that the push continues.

The New York Times detailed last week that the administration had been requesting sending troops into the country since early last year but then dropped it. However, the topic has been brought back to the conversation following the capture of Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

Mexican officials have instead offered alternatives such as increased information sharing and for the U.S. to play a greater role inside command centers.

Mexican officials, the outlet added, are under pressure to reach an agreement, and some in the U.S. want to conduct drone strikes against suspected drug labs. However, fentanyl labs are difficult to find and destroy, and forces are still developing ways to do so.

Right now, the CIA is carrying secret drone flights over Mexico to identify possible locations. The intelligence is then given to Mexican forces, many of whom have been trained by U.S. counterparts to execute and conduct raids.

However, now Washington has proposed for forces to join the raids and provide support even if Mexican forces continue taking the lead and making key decisions.

In this context, an expert noted that if the U.S. effectively sends troops into the country or carries out unilateral attacks, cartels could escalate their retaliation.

Vanda Felbab-Brown, director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors, detailed potential scenarios in the Brookings Institute's website.

The most likely form, she said, is already available: intensify attacks against local politicians, government officials and law enforcement. "Mexican cartels routinely kidnap, torture, and kill Mexican government officials and security agents and their families (as well as journalists and civil society activists)," Felbab-Brown recalled.

She added that the groups could stage blockades on roads, highways and major crossings into the U.S. to impact the movement of people and economic activity. "They have already resorted to such actions and could expand and maintain them for longer periods, jeopardizing U.S. supply chains and inflicting high costs on U.S. and Mexican companies," she explained.

The expert went on to say that the moves could "escalate into attacks and sabotage against important infrastructure and the factories and other facilities of U.S. businesses in Mexico." "Beyond temporarily paralyzing operations, such attacks would increase the already high costs international companies in Mexico face for security, including hiring private security companies to protect employees," Felbab-Brown noted.

Cartels have previously mounted city-wide sieges involving gun battles, bombings, and the burning of businesses to force government concessions. Such operations could become more frequent and spread to additional cities if cartels perceive their survival to be at stake, the expert noted in another passage of the article.

Moreover, while Mexican cartels have generally avoided targeting U.S. citizens, sustained U.S. military involvement could alter this calculus. Attacks on U.S. personnel in Mexico, or on American civilians living in or visiting the country, would be a large escalation but can't be fully ruled out.

• Cartels Could Retaliate Against U.S. Attacks By Targeting Mexican Politicians And Armed Forces, Expert Warns
• Mexican Government's Extradition Of Dozens Of Cartel Leaders Is 'An Offering' To Appease Trump Admin, Expert Says

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