US touts collaborative plan to tackle Mexico’s drug cartels – but initiative is met with denial and mistrust south of the border
- Written by Aileen Teague, Assistant Professor, Department of International Affairs, Texas A&M University
Members of the Mexican army drive on a road after an anti-cartel operation in Sinaloa state, Mexico, in 2023.Juan Carlos Cruz/AFP via Getty ImagesA new plan to dismantle cartel-run drug-smuggling corridors along the U.S. southern border was announced by the U.S. administration in mid-August 2025 to great fanfare.
“Project Portero”...








