Former DEA Agent Warns Against U.S. Drone Strikes Against Mexican Cartels: 'It Would Become Another Vietnam'

A former DEA agent is warning the Trump administration against conducting drone strikes against Mexican cartels, as recent reports detail that officials continue to consider the possibility.

Speaking with Infobae Mexico, former Drug and Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent Mike Vigil noted that cartels "are not targets that can be identified as if they were soldiers because they don't have military bases."

Moreover, they don't wear military uniforms, dressing up in civilian clothes. "If drone strikes are launched, they will kill many innocent Mexicans that don't have anything to do with drug-trafficking," Vigil said. He added that U.S. tourists and people from all over the world could also fall victim to the attack: "It would be a disaster and become another Vietnam."

Vigil also issued a start warning about potential retaliation from the cartels: "They will react and could start killing U.S: citizens in Mexico, in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world."

According to the sources cited, the use of U.S. drones to target cartel operatives and infrastructure inside Mexico would represent a significant escalation in counter-narcotics strategy. A former official told the outlet that the goal of the flights is to "build a target deck" that could include cartel operatives, vehicles, warehouses, and other logistical nodes.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Ronald Johnson, Trump's nominee for ambassador to Mexico, have both declined to rule out unilateral military action to strike cartels in the country. "All cards are on the table," the both said in separate statements. In fact, according to NBC News, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper claimed in his memoir that Trump once asked whether missiles could be launched into Mexico and then allow the U.S. to deny any involvement. Trump officials have denied this account.

Advocates of drone strikes argue that sustained military pressure could force cartels to reconsider the economic viability of fentanyl trafficking. Critics like Vigil, in turn, warn the move could backfire diplomatically and politically, destabilize the region, and prove ineffective.

Elsehwere, a top Pentagon official said on Tuesday that special operations forces don't have the authority to launch drone strikes even after the Trump administration designated many cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also warned against the possibility of unilateral strikes: "We do not agree with any kind of intervention or interference. This has been very clear: We coordinate, we collaborate, (but) we are not subordinate and there is no meddling in these actions"