Cartel territorial battles in Mexican border states including Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, and Sonora have produced a surge in displacement, extortion, and violence that is directly affecting US border communities through increased migration pressure, cross-border criminal activity, and the traumatic effects on the tens of thousands of US citizens and dual nationals who maintain family and economic connections to affected Mexican communities.
The Trump administration's designation of several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations has created legal authority for expanded US action but has also complicated the bilateral law enforcement cooperation that Mexican officials say is essential for effective counter-cartel operations. Mexico City's assertion of sovereignty over security operations within its territory has collided with US demands for joint operations authority in ways that have frozen several previously productive cross-border security programs.
