US-Mexico Relations: Experts Warn on Danger of Aggressive Stance To Curb Fentanyl, Drug Trafficking

US-Mexico relations have become a bit more shaky after several Republican candidates suggested more aggressive moves against Mexico's drug cartels to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US.

As the Associated Press pointed out, these Republican candidates include Ron DeSantis who wants suspected drug smugglers shot dead at the US-Mexico border, Nikki Haley who wants to send US special forces to Mexico, Vivek Ramaswamy who criticized Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for being lenient to drug cartels, and Donald Trump, who, as president, since suggested bombing Mexico to target drug cartels.

These candidates have also said that they would use military force against Mexico in response to the trafficking of illegal drugs, fentanyl included. However, these candidates have divided many with their suggestions. On one hand, families of those who died from fentanyl overdose support the idea, but actual policy experts and international relations experts are warning that this would be a violation of Mexico's sovereignty and would constitute war.

Critics add that using military force is not an answer as it only "fuels the racism and xenophobia that undermine efforts to stop drug trafficking."

Majority of Fentanyl Being Smuggled By US Citizens, Not Immigrants

Many anti-immigration advocates state that immigrants are bringing in fentanyl and thus fueling the opioid crisis. However, as the Tampa Bay Times noted, US government data debunks these claims as 90% of fentanyl seizures were made at official land crossings and not illegal border crossings.

CBP deputy assistant commissioner James Mandryck stated during a July hearing that 73% of fentanyl seizures at the border since the previous October were not done by immigrants illegally smuggling drugs across the border for drug cartels but by US citizens. The rest of these were done by Mexican citizens.

The suggestions by US Republican candidates have certainly soured US-Mexico relations a bit. Lopez Obrador slammed them recently, saying "There is a kind of competition to see who is the most ridiculous, who is most brazen to threaten Mexico, to blame Mexico," before calling their ideas of more aggressive moves as "nonsense."

Even though sending troops across the border just to fight the Mexican drug cartels may seem straightforward to many, in international relations, it will be seen as an act of war. Mexico is a US ally and its top trading partner, and sending troops would also hurt the economy of both countries.

Sending US Troops to Mexico Would Not Solve the Fentanyl Crisis, Experts Say

Sending troops to Mexico would simply be a bad foreign policy move in general, with Foreignpolicy.com noting that this would be bad not just for the economy, but also bad overall. It pointed to Rep. Dan Crenshaw's suggestions of following Colombia's model, which would not work for the US as Colombia itself is beset by rebels and drug cartels.

On the other hand, Mexico has been militarizing even further to combat the drug cartels despite its president being accused of being soft against these criminal organizations. He has created the National Guard and several of Mexico's top brass have began wading into politics. This means that by US troops into the mix, things might get more complicated in the end, foreign policy experts warn.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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