Mike Glover on the Growing U.S. Military Focus on Mexican Cartels

In a video from Mike G., a former special operations assaulter and reconnaissance team sergeant breaks down the growing US military and intelligence footprint around Mexican cartels. He walks through recent news segments on Green Berets from 7th Special Forces Group training Mexico's Marine Infantry, CIA drone flights expanding over Mexican territory, and the possibility of future strikes on cartel targets.

Key points

• Training mission: US special forces personnel were set to begin training Mexican Marines in conventional and unconventional combat, arriving fully armed for a mission running into late March.
• Drone activity: Citing NBC and New York Times reporting, Mike G. notes the CIA has expanded secret drone flights over Mexico, with reported figures of 18 missions and six Reaper drones over a 10-day stretch.
• Cartel scale: He cites 2023 data showing roughly 31,000 homicides in Mexico, a rate about four times higher than the US, with nine cartels designated foreign terrorist organizations and an estimated 200,000 members combined.
• Northcom's role: Mike G. argues Northern Command, long overlooked compared to other combatant commands, is now stepping into a central role as authorities and funding shift toward counter-cartel operations.
• Personal take: Drawing on his own background, he argues for reinstating the disbanded Commander's In-Extremis Force, saying specialized regional counterterrorism teams fill a gap larger national units can't cover alone.

Quick take

Mike G. frames this as the early, quieter phase of a much bigger shift in how Washington deals with cartels, built on his own firsthand experience with these kinds of operations rather than speculation alone.

Watch the full video: Mike G.