Mark Wade

Defeating Mexico's Drug Trafficking Organizations: the Range of Military Operations in Mexico Mark Wade

Drug Trafficking Organizations within Mexico have become a challenge to the state and are affecting both Mexican and U. S. citizens within the U. S. and Mexico border region. As the situation continues to spiral out of control, the U. S. military, with approval of the Mexican government, may need to conduct operations within Northern Mexico to defeat drug trafficking organizations and stabilize the region. As the full range of military operations have been conducted within Afghanistan, this study explores those military operations and their applicability to defeating drug trafficking organizations within Northern Mexico. Through operational design, the primary conclusion drawn is that there is no single military operation that should be conducted. Rather, the U. S. military operations that can be employed to defeat drug trafficking organizations and stabilize Northern Mexico are a combination of security cooperation, limited contingency operations, and major operations.