The CIA assisted Mexican security forces in an operation that resulted in the death of Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, on Feb. 22. The mission was directed by Mexico's Secretary of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch, who himself narrowly survived an assassination attempt by the same cartel six years ago.

The United States has dramatically expanded its anti-drug and anti-cartel operations across Latin America under President Donald Trump, with coordinated efforts in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela marking what officials and analysts describe as a significant shift in regional cooperation.

The issue has sparked debate among foreign policy experts, with supporters arguing that aggressive U.S. engagement is the only way to disrupt cartel supply chains, while critics question the long-term consequences of increased military involvement in sovereign nations. What is clear, however, is that multiple Latin American governments are now cooperating with Washington at levels not seen in years — and the results have been dramatic.

Maduro's Arrest Set the Tone for the Region

The wave of regional cooperation appears to have been galvanized in part by a U.S. military operation in January, when American forces apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a middle-of-the-night raid in Caracas. According to the NY Post, residents near his military compound reported hearing explosions and low-flying aircraft during the Jan. 3 operation. Smoke was later seen rising from the Port of La Guaira following the raid.

The bold action reportedly prompted other regional leaders to reassess their own postures toward U.S. anti-drug efforts. The U.S. military has also engaged in a bombing campaign targeting alleged Venezuelan drug boats spotted in the Caribbean and bound for U.S. shores. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump "promised to take on the cartels — and he has delivered by designating these criminal entities as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, destroying evil drug boats heading towards our country, arresting narco terrorist Nicolas Maduro, and more."

"The President will always do everything in his power to protect our homeland from brutal terrorists who rape, maim, and kill American citizens," Kelly added.

Colombia Strikes After Closed-Door White House Meeting

On Feb. 3, Colombian President Gustavo Petro met with Trump at the White House in a closed-door session. One day later, Petro ordered a military strike against members of the National Liberation Army, a guerrilla group that controls key drug-producing regions in Colombia. The strike killed seven ELN members.

The move represented a stark reversal for Petro, whom Trump had sanctioned last October over alleged drug-related issues. Latin America policy expert Andres Martinez Fernandez noted that "Colombia has ramped up counter-narcotic activities after taking a very different approach for the first three years of the Petro administration." Experts view the post-meeting strike as a deliberate gesture of cooperation with Washington.

In Mexico, the transformation has been even more pronounced. Mexico's previous president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was notoriously lenient toward cartel organizations and did little to cooperate with U.S. enforcement. As recently as last August, President Claudia Sheinbaum maintained similar policies, firmly stating she was not coordinating with the U.S. on drug enforcement.

El Mencho's Death Caps Months of Escalation

Experts suggest that Trump's threats to deploy drones and helicopters over Mexican territory pressured Sheinbaum's administration to act. Retired U.S. Army Col. Daniel Gerstein recalled that Trump "started talking about we're going to fly drones over Mexico and take out drug [traffickers]. Sheinbaum made it crystal clear that Mexico had sovereign territory and they weren't going to allow a bunch of helicopters or US drones flying over their territory."

Mexico's shift culminated with the Feb. 22 killing of El Mencho, who had posed for a photograph with CJNG members at an undisclosed location in 2021. Sheinbaum stated that no U.S. troops participated in the raid but acknowledged that the two nations share intelligence. Cartel members subsequently went on a violent rampage in retaliation for their leader's death.

In March 2025, Harfuch met with FBI Director Kash Patel in Washington, D.C., and attended training sessions at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va., as well as with the DEA. The FBI posted on X that the meeting represented a "historic milestone" following the extradition of 29 wanted individuals to the U.S. Since Trump designated cartels as terrorist organizations last year, Mexico has sent 100 suspected cartel leaders to face American justice, mostly at Harfuch's direction. Martinez Fernandez observed that "Mexico, with significant prompting of the United States, is taking more substantial action on narco trafficking in the past few months than it did over the preceding six years combined."

Bolivia Ends 17-Year Standoff With the DEA.

Bolivia's recently elected centrist president, Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party, announced this week that the DEA has returned to Bolivia — ending a 17-year diplomatic freeze. Former President Evo Morales had expelled all DEA agents and the U.S. ambassador, pursuing a policy of "coca yes, cocaine no" that resulted in expanded legal coca cultivation. Bolivia subsequently became the world's third-largest cocaine producer, according to the United Nations.

Bolivia's Interior Minister Marco Oviedo confirmed on Feb. 23 that "the Drug Enforcement Agency is in Bolivia," adding that cooperation also extends to European intelligence and police bodies. The resumption includes intelligence sharing, officer training, and operational coordination, though Bolivian officials emphasized that no foreign troops would be stationed on the ground. Gerstein noted that "that whole Andean region is an area where there's quite a bit of lawlessness where we've had a great deal of concern."

Ecuador has taken an even more aggressive approach. President Daniel Noboa, a center-right leader and Trump ally, unsuccessfully attempted in December to lift a constitutional ban on foreign military bases before requesting U.S. Air Force assistance for anti-narcotics operations. Noboa told local media the assistance "will allow us to identify and dismantle drug trafficking routes, and subdue those who thought they could take over the country." Ecuador, once among Latin America's safest nations, has been ravaged by cartel violence — 2025 marked its deadliest year on record with 9,000 homicides, and a gang turf conflict last March left 22 people massacred.

Lessons to Learn

1. Cartel violence is not confined to distant borders — the majority of drugs flowing from South America to the U.S. pass through Mexico, meaning the consequences of trafficking directly affect American communities. Staying informed about how international enforcement efforts connect to domestic safety is essential for understanding the broader picture.

2. Political shifts in foreign governments can have immediate impacts on security conditions. The rapid changes in cooperation from Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador demonstrate how quickly environments can transform, which is important for anyone traveling or doing business in the region to monitor.

3. Retaliatory violence following cartel leadership takedowns, such as the rampage that followed El Mencho's death, reminds us that disruption of criminal networks can create dangerous power vacuums.

Why This Story Matters

This story matters because the scale and coordination of U.S.-backed anti-cartel operations across Latin America represent one of the most significant shifts in hemispheric drug enforcement policy in decades. The cooperation of previously resistant governments signals a fundamental change in how the region confronts transnational organized crime. For American communities bearing the toll of drug trafficking and cartel-fueled violence, these developments have direct implications for public safety and national security.

In summary, the U.S. has expanded anti-cartel operations dramatically, beginning with the January arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro, followed by Colombia's post-White House strike against the ELN on Feb. 4, Bolivia's announcement this week welcoming the DEA back after 17 years, Ecuador's December request for U.S. Air Force assistance amid record homicide numbers, and culminating with the CIA-assisted killing of CJNG leader El Mencho on Feb. 22 in Mexico — a mission led by Security Secretary Harfuch, who has deepened cooperation with the FBI and DEA through training and the extradition of 100 suspected cartel leaders to the United States.