by Travis Bembenek

The issue that most captures our readers’ attention is the power and violence of the cartels in Mexico. Many say Mexico will never reach its full potential until it brings them under control. I wholeheartedly agree. Corruption, threats, extortion, and violence not only damage Mexico’s economic prospects but deeply harm its people. Around 20,000 Mexicans die annually due to cartel violence, and over 80,000 in the U.S. from drug overdoses — a devastating toll on both nations.

Some Americans argue that Claudia Sheinbaum should step aside and let the U.S. military handle the cartels. But this view overlooks how complicated such interventions are. Look at the outcomes in Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Foreign military intervention in a country’s internal matters rarely produces lasting success.

There’s also the faulty assumption that the U.S. can easily fix the supply side of the drug problem in Mexico while failing to curb demand at home. Focusing on Mexico’s side of the border ignores how the U.S. itself contributes to the issue through domestic consumption and lax control of supply chains.

Another common claim is that Claudia is afraid of the cartels and incapable of tackling them seriously.

So where are we now, about eight months into Sheinbaum’s presidency and nearly five months into Trump’s return to the White House? Are we making progress?

Let’s examine six key areas:

1. Increased troop presence at the border?
   Yes. The U.S. has over 10,000 troops and National Guard members at the border, with 1,000 more recently approved. Mexico has deployed 10,000 National Guard troops to border areas under Sheinbaum’s orders. These numbers represent a notable increase in military focus.
2. Improved surveillance cooperation?
   Despite initial controversy, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the Mexican military is working with the U.S. on surveillance. Covert CIA drone flights have begun over Mexico to locate fentanyl labs, and U.S. spy planes have flown missions near Baja. While no strikes have been authorized, these efforts show growing bilateral coordination.
3. Record drug seizures?
   Yes. Seizures of fentanyl and cocaine have hit historic levels. U.S. authorities in Arizona confiscated over 4 million fentanyl pills — quadrupling their previous record. Texas saw the seizure of over 1,500 kilograms of methamphetamine. Mexico’s Navy recently intercepted 1.28 tonnes of cocaine, and in Sinaloa, over 1,000 kilograms of fentanyl were seized, with an estimated street value of $400 million. These are major operational hits to traffickers.
4. Major cartel leader arrests?
   Recent arrests have struck at cartel leadership structures. Among them:

• MS-13’s senior figure Francisco Román (arrested in Mexico)
• Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada (arrested in the U.S.)
• Ovidio Guzmán (son of ‘El Chapo’) preparing to plead guilty
• Sinaloa Cartel members José Ángel Canobbio and Kevin Alonso Gil Acosta
• Carlos Treviño of the Northeast Cartel

Mexico also extradited 29 cartel figures to the U.S., including Rafael Caro Quintero. Most recently, 17 of El Chapo’s relatives surrendered at the U.S.-Mexico border — possibly linked to a plea deal. These arrests signal deeper coordination and greater pressure on cartel networks.

5. Has violence declined overall?
   The Sheinbaum government reports an 11% nationwide drop in homicides year-to-date. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch noted over 20,000 arrests for high-impact crimes and the seizure of 10,000 firearms. However, high-profile killings — such as the murder of two aides to Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada — keep concerns high. Incidents in Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Baja California Sur further illustrate the persistent threat.
6. What are U.S. officials saying?
   Trump has offered both praise and critique. On March 6, he posted, “Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard… stopping Fentanyl.” But in an interview with Fox News, he remarked, “Mexico is… afraid of the cartels… they run large sections of Mexico.” Still, he said he is “dealing very nicely” with Sheinbaum, calling her “a very fine woman.”

Homeland Security head Kristy Noem visited Sheinbaum in Mexico City, calling Mexico’s National Guard deployment and cooperation on deportation flights “a positive step,” though she added there’s still “much work to be done.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, “They have been very responsive on our security concerns… productive cooperation.” He plans to visit Mexico soon with other cabinet members to deepen bilateral efforts.

My take:
Although it’s still early in both presidencies, we are witnessing a higher level of coordination and commitment from the U.S. and Mexican governments. This momentum is unique and promising. Surveillance, enforcement, arrests, and diplomacy are all progressing.

The cartel problem won’t be resolved overnight — nor solely through force. But we’re seeing signs of a real effort to disrupt their operations more aggressively than in years past. The challenge ahead is to sustain and expand this progress.

What do you think?

Stay tune as we continue to follow this critical issue, one that deeply affects not just Mexico and the U.S., but the future of their bilateral relationship.

Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.

As we seek to reach ever-higher and more sophisticated levels of genetic technology, we must proceed responsibly — and with a certain humility

by Fr. Michael P. Orsi

Lifesite

Our new Pope is an Augustinian, which is to say a member of the priestly order whose charism is based on the writing of St. Augustine.

That fourth-century scholar from the northern coast of Africa underwent a profound religious conversion after many years of living in immorality and self-indulgence. Long feeling called to faith and a moral life, but unable to make the leap, he is said to have uttered a wry (and insincere) prayer: “God, grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.”

Augustine finally became a Christian in his early thirties, abandoning his youthful fascination with the Manichaean concept of a dualistic struggle between cosmic forces of good and evil that influenced so many schools of philosophy throughout the classical world.

Under the prayerful encouragement of his mother, Monica, he came to realize that all creation is a product of the divine will. Therefore, life is sacred and should not be abused or misspent.

Perhaps his former dissipation gave him special insights into physical life. Augustine eventually understood that salvation is a gift of God acting within our mortal being — materiality infused by grace, body and spirit together.

This truth was demonstrated by the Incarnation, when God became one of us. And its reality has become ever more apparent as human understanding of physical life has increased through the progress of medical science.

We’ve reached the point now where doctors can make fundamental changes in our basic physical elements — our DNA — through genetic engineering. Gene-altering techniques, many of which are still largely experimental, have already shown tremendous promise in correcting genetic defects and treating disease.

I recently read about a seven-month-old boy suffering with a liver condition for which there is no conventional medical cure. Gene manipulation has arrested the deterioration he had been experiencing, and doctors now project that he will be able to live a long, normal life.

Impressed as we may be by such accomplishments, we must remember their source. It is God who has given man the intellectual ability, the creative intuition, and the analytical perseverance to delve deeply into the components of life and improve the health and wellbeing of all.

If there was ever a need for proof of divine inspiration, then surely such therapeutic marvels as this provide it. They also underscore the profound moral obligation that accompanies every significant advance in scientific and medical knowledge.

As we seek to reach ever-higher and more sophisticated levels of genetic technology, we must proceed responsibly — and with a certain humility. The great Catholic geneticist, Jérôme Lejeune, once observed, “The scientist is one who admits without shame that what he knows is microscopic compared to all that he does not know….”

This vital truth must always be borne in mind. Because techniques that promise great rewards can hold the prospect of great tragedy. Medical history provides many illustrations.

I’m old enough to remember the great Thalidomide scandal of the 1950s. This Swiss-developed drug has proven useful in treatments of cancer, various skin diseases, and even HIV. But it was first introduced as a therapy for pregnant women experiencing severe nausea and stomach upset.

The wholly unanticipated side effect was extreme deformities in their children, many of whom were born without arms or legs.

Mary Shelly’s famous gothic novel Frankenstein has long served as a literary warning about scientific hubris. Her central character, Victor Frankenstein, searched for the key to life, and wound up creating a monster.

More recently, Michael Crichton’s sci-fi novel (and movie) Jurassic Park told the story of prehistoric animals brought back to life through cloning, and running amuck in the island resort created to display them.

In an unsettling echo of the Jurassic Park idea, scientists from a company called Colossal Biosciences have announced the “de-extinction” of the dire wolf, a canine breed that hasn’t been seen on Earth for more than 12,000 years.

Perhaps the most damaging recent example of unrestrained scientific innovation gone awry is COVID-19. How the pandemic was loosed on the world five years ago remains a subject of great dispute. What is clear now, however, is that this novel coronavirus was the direct result of what’s called “gain-of-function” research likely related to anti-biological warfare.

Genetics is to the health sciences what Artificial Intelligence is to digital technology. These two exciting fields have been advancing along parallel lines but are now beginning to converge.

A.I. is being applied to biological research and data analysis, even as genetic understanding influences the development of super-high-speed computer circuitry and robotics. Organic/digital hybrids are a realistic prospect of the not-too-distant future.

This is another area in which we need to hear from our new Augustinian Pope. I suggested recently that Leo XIV needs to develop an encyclical or major statement on the moral implications of Artificial Intelligence . One about genetic engineering should be next on his agenda.

Clearly, the Pope understands the moral magnitude of this issue. In a note marking the start of the 3rd International Bioethics Conference, he encouraged an “interdisciplinary dialogue grounded in the dignity of the human person,” that can “foster approaches to science that are increasingly authentically human and respectful of the integrity of the person.”

As St. Augustine discovered, life and the ability to enhance it are gifts of God’s grace. Science and medicine are man’s response. We must take care that in our attempts at betterment, we don’t create the conditions for harm or even destruction.

The future of humanity is too important.