Month: April 2025

SET THE STAGE WITH SOME FACTS

DOGE FACT. One simple, drop-in-the-bucket example of DOGE “initial” findings shared on a social media platform. The subject is unemployment insurance claims. Since 2020 thousands of Americans between the ages of 1 and 5 (yes one and five), or over age 115 or not born yet submitted claims for $423 million.  Sound ridiculous, it is but unfortunately true. Released 10 April 2035 by Michael Schwarz, The Western Journal.

“24,500 people over 115 years old claimed $59M in benefits.”

“28,000 people between 1 and 5 years old claimed $254M in benefits.”

“9,700 people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69M in benefits.”

“Someone with a birthday in 2154 claimed $41k.”

Conclusion from this and other DOGE releases is that the federal government is full of fraud, waste and abuse totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in tax-payer money. Since DOGE has been active and in the news, a recent poll revealed that 77% of Americans believe there should be “full examination of all government spending.”

Yet Democrats and particularly Democrat leaders can’t seem to find enough senseless vulgar language to define the Trump administration’s intent.

 TRADE DEFICITS FACTS. Victor Davis Hanson unearthed some thirty-year-old video clips of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and former President Bill Clinton railing against trade deficits, insisting on trade parity and reciprocity. If those Democrats were outraged at China’s $100 million trade surplus with the U.S. in 2000, why are they not in agreement with Trump that a $1 trillion trade deficit in 2024 was unsustainable?

In 2003, investment guru Warren Buffett warned in Fortune magazine that the then-record trade deficit at 4.56% of GDP was unsustainable.

In 2018, former Obama administration economist Jason Furman warned that trade deficits above 3% of GDP carried with them all sorts of problems, a view shared by the International Monetary Fund at the time. Well, that deficit ratio has soared to 6.4% of GDP since Furman’s warning. Isn’t it about time to consider doing something about it. Yet there is not enough ugliness from Democrats and their obliging media to describe their brainless objections to the Trump administration’s initiatives. 

CONGRESS FACTS. And then there is the generally relentless ineptitude and wastefulness of our elected officials. Just one example; the thousands-page bills that none of them read that passed containing hundreds of billions of dollars of unrelated waste and abuse. Congress is not currently a solution to the problem of deficit spending; they are the problem.

WE ARE IN TROUBLE FACT. No country has ever been in the position of the U.S. with a simultaneous $1 trillion trade deficit, $37 trillion debt, and deficit spending running about $6.6 billion per day.  The Congressional Budget Office has been telling us for years that this formula is “unstainable.” Unstainable” is a euphemism for “economic collapse.”  President Trump, as promised, has set out to do something about it and the mindless vulgar reaction by the Democrats, Trump-haters and media is way beyond unbecoming. It demonstrates a level of ignorance never seen before by a so-called political party and their media wonks.

GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK

September, 2024, a national NBC News poll revealed that 65% of voters believed the country was on the wrong track. They were absolutely correct. Candidate Trump promised to fix it.

How did President Trump do in his first 100-days?

1. He shut down the illegal border crossings from Biden’s average of 5,479 PER DAY for 4 years. The U.S. Border Patrol reported the lowest daily nationwide apprehensions in history; February 2025, 330 per day and 264 per day in March. The March 2025 total of 8,184 is a 95% decrease from the Biden 137,473 in March 2024. Throughout the 2024 campaign season, Biden told we-the-people that it would take Congressional action to shut down the border.  President Trump did it in the first week.

2. Resumed construction of the border wall after a 4-year Biden shutdown.

3. Designated Latin American Cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

4. Designated Tren de Aragua (Venezuela origin) and MS-13 (originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s) as domestic terrorist organizations.

5. Initiated a long-overdue reduction in size of the federal government by hundreds of thousands thereby saving hundreds of billions of dollars.

6. Using DOGE to dig out massive government fraud, waste and abuse thereby saving hundreds of billions of dollars per year.   

7. Began to rebuild deterrence and military capability.

8. Began a tariff policy overhaul from which the U.S. was accumulating about a $1 trillion-dollar trade deficit per year after fifty years of consecutive trade deficits.

9. 70+ nations now lining up to negotiate new trading terms with America.

10. The Labor Department reported that in March 2025, employers added 228,000 jobs, 93,000 more than predicted.

11. The March inflation report told us the annualized inflation rate dropped to 2.6% from 2.8% the previous month and from 3.5% March 2024

12. Biden piled on nearly $2 trillion in new regulations over his four years in office, In 2024, the Biden Administration set an all-time record by publishing 107,262 pages of final rules, proposed rules, and other public notices in the Federal Register. President Trump has initiated a massive deregulation effort that has already saved Americans over $180 billion, or $2,100 per family of four13.

13. Budget cuts leading to a balanced budget and no deficit spending are being seriously worked. U.S. debt is currently increasing at a rate of $6.6 billion per day; now approaching $37 trillion. Finally, a president recognizes that this is unsustainable. 81 % of Americans want a balanced budget.

14. During his first term, President Trump designated the Houthis as an international terrorist organization. Biden immediately took them off the terrorist list even as they were attacking U.S. naval vessels and international shipping in the Red Sea. President Trump has not only redesignated the Houthis as terrorist, he has been bombing their facilities and leaders to force reopening of the Red Sea to safe shipping.

15. He is seriously negotiating with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

16. He is negotiating with Iran to stop production of a nuclear weapon which would seriously further destabilize the Middle East and any hope for world peace.  

17. Resumption of arms shipments to Israel; Benjamin Netanyahu was the first foreign leader invited to the White House after being shunned by Biden.

18. Seeking a solution to deal with the rebuilding of Gaza.

19. As promised, President Trump has directed the deportation of the “worst first” illegal immigrants. By the end of March, the Department of Homeland Security announced arrests of 113,000 and “north of” 100,000 deportations.

20. Depoliticized the Justice Department.

21. Depoliticized the FBI.

22. So far, there have been 52 separate actions via Executive Orders and Congressional actions to unleash our energy production potential that had been shut down by the Biden administration.

23. Biden ignored the fact that the demand for electrical power will nearly double by 2050. Wind and sun production is too unreliable to meet 24/7 demands.  AI demands alone will soon create shortages.  Trump has initiated actions to drastically increase production, through the use of clean natural gas.  

24. Trump has been holding frequent no-holds-barred press meetings vs. Biden’s fully pre-scripted rare occurrences. America needs to hear from our leader vs notes prepared by some unknown staffer and read to us by the president, 2021-2024.

25.  President Trump immediately deleted all DEI actions in the Federal Government. After investing an estimated $50 billion in DEI, corporate America had, in 2023 and 2024, been backing away from DEI after determining that it is, in and of itself, discriminating. DEI is absolutely pure poison inside a military organization and was a key factor in the rapid decline of U.S. defense capability during the Biden administration.  

26. Eviscerated males from participating in girls’ sports. Just plain and simple common sense.

27. He has advanced policies to protect Christians and Jews.

28. President Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords for one good reason; it is ridiculously expensive for the American taxpayer and will accomplish almost nothing to address actual climate change. 

29. President Trump has already negotiated prisoner swaps for two Americans wrongly imprisoned in Russia.

30. President Trump has tightened the rules on the use of the president’s auto pen after is was revealed that someone in the Biden White House was signing presidential documents.

31. Withdrawal from the corrupt United Nations Human Rights Council.

32. He has reinstated sanctions on Iran. Biden had removed sanctions from Iran thereby providing for terrorist funding.

33. Ended USAID’s radical left agenda and transferred their agenda to the State Department.

34. Challenged Panama on their actions to provide China with the capability to close the canal for U.S. use in times of crisis.

35. Signed an Executive Order to prevent voting fraud to include documentary proof of citizenship while registering to vote. This should be a no-brainer considering that a poll April 2025 shows 83% of Americans favor proof of citizenship to vote. Those who oppose are, of course, Democrat leadership who insist on 100% mail-out ballots even though it is a well-known fact that literally millions of mail-out ballots go to a combination of unqualified voters and addresses without bedrooms; Wall Mart, gas stations, street corners, etc. etc.  For example, Omega4America on 22 April released new data from their continuing exhaustive efforts to pinpoint voter fraud; “509 Marlboro Street (city not revealed) had 3 voters from its 1,100-square-foot, 1-bedroom, 1-bath location in 2020 and 135 voters in 2024.” That’s happening all over the U.S., thank you Democrats. Their only response is, “voter ID is racist.”

36. Signed a Presidential Memorandum aimed at stopping illegal aliens and other ineligible persons from obtaining Social Security Act benefits.  

37. etc. etc.

The list is longer, but you get the picture.  President Trump is doing what he said he would do and it is making a difference for Americans in general and tax payers in particular.

WAS THE BIDEN RECORD PREFERABLE?

• Added a staggering $7 trillion to the national debt? Paying off that debt at a billion dollars a year would take 7,000 years
• As a matter of policy allowed 10-12 million illegal aliens into the U.S. The most shameful threat to our internal national security in the history of our nation.
• The Afghanistan pullout. The most embarrassing foreign policy action in U.S. history; abandoning over $80 Billion worth of equipment to include 549,188 rifles, pistols and machine guns now in the hands of terrorist organizations. In one ridiculous presidential knee-jerk directive we lost the trust and respect of our allies and our enemies no longer fear us.
• Electric vehicle mandates.
• Billions of dollars in green regulations.
• Free transportation, debit cards, housing, food and medical care to illegal aliens costing taxpayers billions of dollars per year.
• 3.9 million Social Security cards issued to illegal aliens.
• $16.9 billion for Medicaid services to illegal aliens.
• Degraded international deterrence standing and overall military readiness.
• Politicization of the Justice Department and FBI.
• Set a record in 2024 with the addition of 107,262 pages in the Federal Register; a measure of the rules and regulations added to the Administrative State. 
• An estimated 2 million “gotaways”; criminals, gang members, drug dealers, human traffickers, cartel operatives and terrorist who entered the U.S. and purposedly avoided any contact with the Border Patrol.
• Not knowing who in the White House is actually running the country.
• Inflation rate 1.4 % under Trump 20 Jan. 2021, to Biden’s 9%.
• Gasoline price $2.39 under Trump 20 Jan. 2021 to Biden’s $4.93.
• Mortgage interest rate 3.13% under Trump 20 Jan. 2021 to Biden’s 7.1%.

This also could be a longer list, but you already  know it because  you lived it.

 WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS’ PAST 100 DAYS?

If nothing else, they have been very consistent. It seems they are about 100% against any and every thing that President Trump has proposed and about 100% unable to offer up any alternate courses of action to what he has set out to fix.

The Democrat leaders seem intent on intensifying the pure hatred toward President Trump. 

CONCLUSIONS FROM THE 100-DAYS

The 100-day thing boils down to a “TO” and “FOR” issue.  That is, what Biden did TO the American people with his record-setting inflation, high interest rates, regulations, politization of the Executive Branch, terrible foreign affairs agenda and open borders vs what he did FOR the 10-12-million illegal immigrants who cost the taxpayers about $150 billion a year.

Contrast the Biden 4-years with what President Trump has launched to do FOR we-the-people and TO the illegal immigrants in his first 100 days. Amazing!

During this 100-days, the Democrats have sent a powerful message to the nation; we care about what is best for our Democrat Party, the hell with the rest of you.

I do not believe President Trump gives a hoot about political parties, but he does care first and foremost about we-the-people, all of us, even the shameless Democrats who continually belittle his policies.

BOTTOM LINE

Remember, it was just six months ago that two thirds of us believed the nation was on the wrong path and we were correct. President Trump has attacked that, not with just words but with deeds. There is light at the end of the tunnel and this time it is not an on-coming train.

President Trump is presenting us with a classic, well-conceived long-range strategic plan (a very rare commodity in Washington) that will put us clearly on the right path.

  Be patient, be proud.

MR. PRESIDENT, WHAT ABOUT THE NEXT 100-DAYS? A suggestion…….

The subject is world peace forever. Is it possible? Yes, it is. There is a detailed concept of operations that seems to me to be in your wheelhouse; you can make it happen. See  www.wethepeoplespeaking.com  WORLD PEACE FOREVER published February 2025.

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THE REAL STORY

Former President Biden tried to make us believe, “White supremacists are the most lethal threat to America.” That was just another diversional lie to the American people while Cartel drug kings were killing, on average, 294 mostly young Americans EVERY DAY in 2023 with drugs crossing the open southern border.

Fentanyl is the nation’s greatest and most urgent drug threat. Two milligrams (mg) of fentanyl are considered a potentially fatal dose. In 2023 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized 29,048 pounds of fentanyl.  Let’s do the math.

There are 453,592 milligrams in one pound. Two, just 2, milligrams are considered a potentially lethal dose. That’s 227,000 lethal doses in EACH of the 29,048 pounds seized. The unknown number is how many thousands of pounds were not seized.  

Add to those horrific numbers the fact that in 2023 DEA also seized 79 million fentanyl pills and each pill tested in DEA laboratories averaged 2.4 mg of fentanyl, a potentially lethal dose.

The rest of the world also has a fentanyl problem but the Council on Foreign Relation reported that the U.S. had more fentanyl deaths in 2021 than the remainder of the world combined.

According to the DEA Administrator, Anne Milgram, the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment tells us that “The shift from plant-based drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to synthetic, chemical-based drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine, has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced.”

In four years, did you ever hear Biden discuss the dangers of Cartel exported drugs into the United States?  Neither did I.

CARTEL BACKGROUND:

Mexican Cartels are a narco-terrorist organizations operating inside the U.S. and they are gaining ground every day.

The primary actors are the Sinaloa Cartel, for many years the most dominant drug trafficking organization in Mexico. Cartel Jalisco is the emerging power; engaged in drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, oil pipeline tapping and general criminal activity.

Additionally in the mix are the Los Zetas Cartel, Gulf Cartel and Juarez Cartel. All are engaged in holding their current territory and/or expanding their territory thus creating one of the most violent areas in the world today with an enormous impact on the Mexican economy and society as a whole.    

A footnote to all of this is that fentanyl has changed everything. It is so profitable and can be moved in such small quantities thereby making the Cartels ever more empowered and enriched.

On 20 January after being sworn in as president, Trump named Tren de Aragua in Venezuela, MS-13 in El Salvador and six Mexican Carels as Foreign Terrorists Organizations.

By comparison, ISIS is a terrorist organization that took up lodging in Syria and Iraq and created a separate state from 2014 through 2017. The U.S. was instrumental in eliminating ISIS leaders and collapsing their caliphate. Could we, should we do the same to the Mexican terrorists Cartels? 

RECENT U.S. AND MEXICAN LEADERSHIP

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in office from 2018 to 2024 executed a non-confrontational security strategy against some of the most violent organizations in the world. During his morning briefing on 28 February, 2023, he referred to his strategy as “hugs not guns. Here we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl.” 

President Biden’s response to the narco-terrorists was, “the border is secure.” Let’s call it the head-in-the-sand security strategy.  Both leaders were pathetic, disappointing, an insult to our intelligence and clearly in violation of their oaths of office.

On 7 March, 2023 Senator Lindsey Graham said he was prepared to introduce a bill in Congress to set the stage for the U.S. to use military force in Mexico. Two days later Lopez Obrador called any plan for U.S. military action against the Cartels, “irresponsible.”

On 13 March Lopez Obrador additionally commented, “Mexico is safer than the United States; there is no problem traveling safely in Mexico.”  By the way, Mexico’s nationwide homicide rate at the time was 28 per 100,000 inhabitants while the U.S. was about one fourth that number.

The Biden administration never missed an opportunity to show off a confiscated shipment of drugs from Mexico. One event included more than 4.5 million fentanyl pills, 140 pounds of fentanyl powder, 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and 135 kilograms of cocaine totaling a street value of roughly $13 million. That’s the good news. But the take-away from this comes from Anthony Coulson, a retired DEA special agent, who pointed out that. “A $13 million loss won’t stop the Sinaloa Cartel, first because it’s a drop in the bucket, and second, because this is to be expected. An insignificant loss such as this is just a normal part of their operation.”

What the Biden Administration did not do was speculate on the estimated quantity of drugs that actually got released illegally into the U.S.

CARTELS, HOW THEY OPERATE

The Cartels are violent organizations engaged almost continuously in turf battles with rival Cartels.  Additionally, Cartels are known to use a portion of their vast profits to pay off judges, police, military and politicians. Should the individuals reject the bribe their families will likely be at risk of torture, kidnapping or worse.

U.S. gangs have an important role in Cartel operations. In 2024 the FBI reported there are at least 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs criminally active in the U.S. with about 1.4 million members. Many gangs are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking.

The relationship between U.S. gangs and the Cartels is that the gangs represent an in-place nation-wide resource of foot soldiers for drug distribution and street sales.

Cartels excel at getting drugs over the border; then, for the most part, they cede operations in the U.S. to local or regional groups. The Drug Enforcement Agency’s 2024 Drug Threat Assessment reports that Mexican Cartels have operations in all 50 states.   

Most of the illicit drugs entering the U.S. that are seized by authorities are discovered at the 300-plus official ports of entry. More than 90% of the Meth, fentanyl and heroin seized is at ports of entry.

THE FENTANYL TRIP

Fentanyl, which often gets mixed with heroin or cocaine is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. It’s also cheaper to produce than either of those drugs.

Here’s how fentanyl gets from China to America’s streets; data taken from an article in the NEW YORK POST, February 18, 2023 by Michael Kaplan.

• STEP 1: China to the west coast of Mexico.

Chinese chemists produce powdered chemicals known as “precursors” that are fentanyl’s building blocks. It is not unusual for the precursors to be packages looking like dog food.

Approximate value of the precursor, $200 per kilogram. One kilogram is 2.2 pounds.  It is interesting to watch the price grow as the journey continues so they will be in bold type.

• STEP 2: Mexico.

There is so much corruption at the ports that a couple hundred bucks will make authorities look the other way as chemicals are unloaded from China.

“Laboratory” is a glorified word for the Mexican fentanyl production facilities. Much of the fentanyl is brewed outdoors in pots over open flames where the “cook” tries to stay up-wind in order to live through the process The drugs get diluted, mixed with other chemicals and the final product is either powder or fentanyl pressed into pills that resemble pharmaceuticals or candy.

Approximate value per kilogram: $3,000 to $5,000 (depending on purity).

• STEP 3: Crossing the border.

Drug dealers routinely stash the fentanyl in trucks, usually mixed in with other shipping products. With 200,000 vehicles crossing the Mexico/US border each day, it’s not difficult for the deadly cargo to slip through.

Approximate value per kilogram: $20,000

• STEP 4: Urban hubs.

Once over the border, the idea is to quickly reach a drop-off spot. For example, before drugs enter New York City, there is often a distribution point where the trucker will rendezvous with smaller vehicles.

Approximate value per kilogram: $35,000

• STEP 5: Drug mills.

Inside apartments, houses, garages, wherever it is convenient, fentanyl is cut with adulterants and sealed in glassine (smooth and glossy paper that is air, water and grease resistant) envelopes that contain single-sized doses.  A crew of 12 can package 100,000 glassines in 24 hours. On the street a glassine packet becomes a $10 sale.

One glassine usually contains less than two milligrams of fentanyl. Keep in mind that there are about 28,000 milligrams in one ounce. Properly divided, one ounce of fentanyl can equate to about 14,000 lethal doses.

Approximate value per kilogram: $300,000

• STEP 6: From the streets to the user.

This is where U.S. gangs become an important part of the Cartels’ distribution plan. Wholesalers’ pick-up glassine-enveloped goods from the drug mill and then meet up with their street dealers. Street dealers make approximately $2 for each $10 bag of fentanyl that they sell to their customers.

Approximate value per kilogram: $1 million; from $200 per kilogram leaving China to $1 million on U.S. streets killing about 300 Americans per day.

AUTHORITY TO USE THE U.S. MILITARY IN MEXICO

Can the U.S. use military force inside Mexico to defeat the Cartels? Former Attorney General William Barr, I assume after extensive research by his Justice Department staff, believes so.  In 2020 he wrote;

“What will it take to defeat the Mexican Cartels?

First, a far more aggressive American effort inside Mexico than ever before, including a significant U.S. law-enforcement and intelligence presence, as well as select military capabilities. Optimally, the Mexican government will support and participate in this effort, and it is likely to do so once they understand that the U.S. is committed to do whatever is necessary to cripple the Cartels, whether or not the Mexican government participates.

Second, the danger Cartels pose to the U.S. requires that we confront them primarily as national-security threats, not a law-enforcement matter. These narco-terrorist groups are more like ISIS than like the American mafia. The only way to defeat them is to use every tool at our disposal inside Mexico.”

Constitutional War Powers (PPG), Article II, Section 2 grants the President the power to direct the military after a declaration of war by Congress.

Presidential Policy Guidance (PPG) on Procedures for Approving Direct Action Against Terrorist Targets Located Outside the United States and Areas of Active Hostilities. Put into place under the Obama administration, the PPG established standard operating procedures for circumstances when the U.S. takes direct action against terrorist targets outside of the US and outside of areas of active hostilities.

Article 51 of the United Nations Charter specifies that, “Nothing in this Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs.”  The U.S. interpretation of the Charter recognizes three circumstances under which the use of force is permitted: 1) the use of force authorized by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter; 2) the use of force in self-defense, including against imminent attacks; and 3) the use of force in an otherwise lawful manner with the consent of the territorial state.

SOME EXAMPLES OF THE U.S. ENGAGING TERRORISTS IN FOREIGN NATIONS IN THE PAST

Somalia: Over the past 10 years U. S. military operations against al-Shabaab terrorists with the consent of the government of Somalia in furtherance of U.S. national self-defense.

Libya: Operations against Daesh terrorists were conducted 2015-2019 with the consent of the Government of National Accord in furtherance of U.S. national self-defense.

Yemen: Operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have been conducted since 2015.

Given the above, one could argue that the Cartels have become a clear and present danger to the United States and that Congress has acknowledged inherent executive power in accordance with the Joint Resolution passed by Congress on September 14, 2001 which states the President may deploy military force preemptively against terrorist organizations in the states that harbor or support them, whether or not they can be linked to the specific terrorist incidents of September 1

January, 2025, President Trump declared the cartels terrorist organizations.

During the campaign Trump said, “When I am president, it will be the policy of the United States to take down the cartels, just as we took down ISIS and the ISIS caliphate

CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS FOR THE USE OF U.S. MILITARY IN MEXICO

During his State of the Union address on 4 March President Trump did not mince words about the threat drug cartels pose, saying  “The cartels are waging war on America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels.”

Begin by defining the overarching Rules of Engagement, ROE. 

• Trust no one.  Too many Mexican politicians, law enforcement and military at all levels are on the Cartels’ payroll, accepting bribes and/or living under threat of violence for themselves and their families. 

Case in point: A former Mexican cabinet member, Garcia Luna, was convicted February 2023 in the U.S. for taking bribes to protect the violent drug Cartels. He has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Note he was convicted in the U.S., not in Mexico.

• The second ROE is to secretly develop detailed strategic and tactical plans before any U.S. forces are introduced into Mexico.

• Conduct Mexico-wide operations without a visible military foot-print inside Mexico. This may be very difficult. 

• Do all of this with, at least, tacit approval by Mexico’s new President Sheinbaum. This may be a difficult process.  On 5 February,2025, the U.S. Attorney General published a memo for all Department of Justice employees announcing that President Donald Trump had issued a directive urging the federal government, “To revise existing national security and counter-narcotics strategies.” When apprised of this, Mexico’s President Sheinbaum responded during a news conference stating, “They (the U.S.) should start with their own country; of course, we are going to coordinate and collaborate, never subordination or interference; it is coordination.”

• All of the planning and on into execution must be Close Hold in order to preserve and protect military operational security; Need-to-Know only. There will be no media briefs.

• Presidents Trump and Sheinbaum should meet secretly and agree to this concept of operations for the benefit of both countries. The point of the meeting is for President Trump to assert to his Mexican counterpart President Sheinbaum, that her country is in serious trouble, her government has lost control of large sections of territory, it is getting worse, it is negatively impacting the U.S. and we have no intentions of having a narco-terrorists nation, the likes of ISIS, on our southern border. We are not asking for permission but very much want President Sheinbaum’s blessing and cooperation.

• The internal U.S. Trump team should consist of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Commander, CIA Director and the Director of National Intelligence.

Of course, there could be a very long list of senior government officials (Sec Def, Joint Chiefs, Secretary Homeland Security, Secretary of State, etc. etc.) who believe they should be included. But therein lies a big problem. Each would have subordinates working on remarks, power point slides, fact sheets, position papers, etc. Questions would be asked down the chains of command and within a few days thousands would be on the Close Hold, Need-to-Know list followed by headlines in the Washington Post, NY Times, CNN, etc. The Cartels would be ready and negative world opinion (China, Russia, etc.) would flood back to President Trump. . 

• President Trump then turns the meeting over to the JSOC Commander who will explain that tanks will not be rolling south, the 82^nd Airborne Division will not be parachuting into Sinaloa State, and we have no intention to subsume control of any Mexican territory.

• Commander JSOC will go on to explain that the military footprint inside Mexico will be almost invisible. This will be a war fought at night by special operations forces; namely, Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon, Army Rangers, Army Special Forces and Army Delta Force. Mexicans will not see U.S. military vehicles patrolling their countryside, road blocks, checkpoints, or military formations attacking Cartel militias. 

• President Trump interjects to explain that what President Sheinbaum will see and hear is that Cartel leaders are missing, their chains of command are being killed and captured, incoming supplies and outgoing products are not on schedule, production facilities are disappearing and Cartels are blaming other Cartels for a takeover of their territory. This will allow Mexican military and law enforcement to go on the offensive and regain control of territory and generally reduce the violence.  

• The meeting will then be turned over to the Director of National Intelligence who will explain that every operational collection element of the U.S. intelligence inventory will be focused on Mexico. These intel capabilities will be temporarily placed under the operational control of a special intel task force for Operation Cartel. Of particular importance will be Humint, Human intelligence. Because of the decentralized, mom-and-pop production of fentanyl powder and tablets, we need a nation-wide Humint collection effort. Find a production facility today, take it out tonight. Find a collection point today, take it out tonight. Locate cartel leaders, at every level, today take them out tonight. 

The Director of National Intelligence will go on to explain that every intel organization in the U.S. will be tasked to provide all of their individuals of Latin American heritage to be temporarily assigned to a CIA-led Operation Cartel task force for human intel collection. They will be given credentials for in-country personal security, inserted into communities all over Mexico, begin building local cells and reporting findings.

• Drones of every size and capability will fill the sky; surveillance drones with real-time downlinks to Special Operations forces on the ground; drones armed with Hellfire missiles in the air and on station for immediate use by ground forces against high-value targets and targets of opportunity.

• Tell President Sheinbaum that nothing that has been discussed during the meeting will be disclosed down her chain of command because of the likelihood that many of them have been compromised by violent threats from the Cartel leaders. The first ROE will be immediately applicable; trust no one.

• The applicable elements of the U.S. government will begin immediately to transform the concept into a phased plan for execution of actionable intelligence.  Every element will be placed under the operational control of the JSOC Commander for phase 1, planning (about six weeks) and throughout the execution phases. The intent is to begin operations with a Mexico-wide shock-and-awe attack on Cartel headquarters, production facilities, collection/distribution points and supply chains to immediately put the Cartels on their heels and in a defensive posture. Then increase the operational tempo to the maximum extent possible.

CONCLUSIONS

 Mexico is in deep trouble. Cartels are gaining ground every day and there does not appear to be any aggressive counter-Cartel actions by President Sheinbaum.  

Currently the U.S. has no counter-cartel plan.  The U.S. and Mexico must help each other. We must take the initiative away from the Cartels and give Mexico’s law enforcement and military the confidence to wade in and finish the job.

While taking out the Cartels, the U.S. must completely rethink its operations at the 300-plus U.S. ports of entry. Over 90% of all the hard drugs confiscated is accomplished at the ports of entry. While that is good news, it also implies that there is such an enormous volume that gets through and on to the streets.

Going back to a previous note, the FBI reports there are about 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs criminally active in the U.S. today with about 1.4 million members. President Trump, the Justice Department, ICE and nation-wide law enforcement must become fully engaged to convince Mexico that we are fully committed to simultaneously clean up our own house.

We should continue President Trump’s initiatives to physically close our borders.

BOTTOM LINE

“Where there is a will, there is a way.”  If the United States does not take positive overwhelming action to take out the Cartels, they will find a way to get their drugs into the U.S. and thereby continue their billion-dollar operations.

With the post-Biden initiatives for change, for greater national security and for law and order,  this concept of operations is now within the art of the possible.

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of two books, Vision to Execution and Fix the Systems, Transform America as well as the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com.