President-elect Donald Trump has signaled his intent to take on the Mexican cartel criminal organizations to try to stop or reduce the cross-border trafficking of illegal migrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.

Trump's incoming "border czar," Tom Homan, would play a key role in any such efforts, and he just highlighted the recent discovery via drone surveillance of multiple cartel-operated tunnels under the U.S.-Mexico border, Breitbart reported.

That discovery came as part of a joint operation involving U.S. and Mexican officials, and such cooperation will likely prove vital in the coming months and years to make any impending anti-cartel actions effective and worthwhile.

Drones locate cartel tunnels under border in Arizona

On Sunday, an X account dedicated to sharing updates about incoming Border Czar Tom Homan and the situation at the southern border posted that there was "Great news coming out of Yuma, Arizona!"

"With a joint operation between American and Mexican officials, they found both ends of a dr*g tunnel used by the Mexican Cartel," the account reported. "This is one of three recently found since last year alone, with this one being found with the help of a drone."

News:

Great news coming out of Yuma, Arizona!

With a joint operation between American and Mexican officials, they found both ends of a dr*g tunnel used by the Mexican Cartel.

This is one of three recently found since last year alone, with this one being found with the help… pic.twitter.com/32o9XnpTkr

— Tom Homan - Border Czar Commentary and Updates (@TomHoman_) January 6, 2025

Trump to declare Mexican cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations"

The Independent reported last week that President-elect Trump has revealed his plans to formally designate some or all of the Mexican cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations" once he has taken office, which would provide authorities for his administration to take a broad range of detrimental actions against those criminal organizations.

"I will immediately designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations," Trump vowed at an event in Arizona last month. "We’re going to do it immediately and unleash the full power of federal law enforcement, ICE, Border Patrol."

That "full power" of the federal government unleashed against the cartels could include anything from economic and social sanctions against cartel leaders to military operations like airstrikes and raids on important cartel targets in Mexican territory.

Going after the cartels is not without some risks, though, as those organizations could launch counterstrikes against U.S. officials and citizens, and the cooperation of the Mexican government will likely prove critical, as relations between the two countries could be substantially strained if there is a public perception that Mexico's territorial sovereignty has been violated by U.S. operations.

What might U.S. actions against the cartels look like?

Rolling Stone magazine, citing numerous sources both on and off the record, recently reported on what President-elect Trump's plans to take on the Mexican cartels might look like once he has settled into office.

To be sure, a full-on military invasion of Mexico would seemingly be out of the question, but targeted airstrikes, including by drones or manned aircraft, or special operations raids deep into Mexican territory to capture or kill cartel leaders and top lieutenants seem highly likely, much like U.S. forces often did in Afghanistan and Iraq to take out insurgent chiefs.

Other, perhaps less dramatic options could also include embedding U.S. special operations troops or federal agents with Mexican military and police units to serve as advisors and trainers to help them lead the fight against the cartels and their criminal activities.

Again, though, any actions taken against the cartels, especially if the Mexican government is not fully onboard, could result in retaliatory acts of retribution by the cartels against Americans on both sides of the border or even spark an international crisis.