So far, the headlines in 2026 have been dominated by U.S. foreign policy. The strikes by the United States and Israel against the evil Iranian regime this last weekend have understandably been a major focus of national news coverage and attention. Rightly so. This bold strike has the potential to protect America’s national interest by eliminating Iran’s nuclear capacity and taking out an Iranian regime hostile to global peace and security.
Camp Buehring, an U.S. Army installation where I was spent time my deployment by the Defense Intelligence Agency, is one of the American bases in the Middle East hit by a retaliatory strike by the Iranians. I, like many Americans, am praying for our brave service men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our country and our freedoms. At the same time, there is a different, recent development in a foreign country that also deserves attention — the Mexican government’s killing of notorious drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho.”
The elimination of a major kingpin of the global drug trade is another hallmark success of the Trump administration’s “Don-roe Doctrine” and an example of how the administration’s decisive commitment to a strong U.S. presence in the Western Hemisphere is making Americans safer at home.
While I did support the U.S. Counter-ISIS Combined Joint-Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve as a civilian intelligence analyst on a DIA deployment, the bulk of my time as an Intelligence Officer with the Department of Defense was spent working Counter Narcotic missions; notably, this includes a stint working out of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. This was important work, as every fentanyl shipment we helped disrupt was linked to fewer overdose deaths in the United States. But it was also incredibly frustrating at times. The Mexican government at the time employed a “hugs not bullets” counterviolence strategy, and units of their security forces ranged from complacent at best to complicit at worst. Fighting the flow of deadly drugs into the United States was made exponentially more difficult by the lack of a willing partner in Mexico to act against the violent cartels.
Enter the “Don-roe Doctrine.” President Trump made it clear that he was not willing to sit idly by and politely ask the Mexican government to act as drug cartels smuggled tons of deadly drugs into the United States. President Trump utilized a whole-of-government strategy to pressure the Mexican government under President Claudia Sheinbaum to take more forceful actions against the cartels. The impressive U.S. raid to take out Venezuelan Narco-President Nicolas Maduro (subject of another Substack post!) upped the ante. President Trump made it clear he was not joking around and put governments in Latin America, especially Mexico, on notice that he would not tolerate leadership in their nations that put American lives at risk.
Weeks later, the sustained pressure delivered a substantial blow to cartel leadership with the capture and killing of El Mencho. While the operation was conducted in Mexico by Mexican security forces,it did involve cooperation with U.S. military intelligence. El Mencho had long been a top target of the U.S. government — for good reason. The cartel he led, “The New Generation Jalisco Cartel,” was one of Mexico’s mostly deadly and powerful drug trafficking organizations. His removal not only puts all drug kingpins on notice but will also destabilize and disrupt a leading criminal organization responsible for the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.In Mexico, as in Iran, the next steps and following weeks will be crucial to sustained success and improved security on American soil.. Violence erupted in Mexico following El Mencho’s elimination, demonstrating the strength of cartel influence over areas of Mexico. This highlights the continued need for action from the Mexican government after their bold step against CJNG. Remarkably, removing the head of the drug trafficking organization responsible for flooding American streets with deadly fentanyl is another notch of success for the Trump Administration’s foreign policy approach to Latin America. Drug traffickers and terrorists alike should take note: America is willing, able and ready to act.
Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) represents the 95th District in Michigan’s House of Representatives. He previously served as a civilian intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, working in Washington D.C., Mexico and the Middle East.
