After two weeks of US Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft conducting multiple signals intelligence (SIGINT) operations along the US-Mexico border and in international waters off southern Baja California—areas controlled by heavily armed drug cartels—the Mexican Senate Commission has approved the deployment of US Special Forces operators to the country for “training missions.”

SOFREP’s Guy D. McCardle reports that the Mexican Senate Commission has already approved the US Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Green Berets to conduct training exercises at a naval facility in Campeche, a Mexican port city on the Gulf of Mexico.

As of Monday, the exercise is underway and will last through the end of March in conjunction with the Mexican Navy’s Infantería de Marina. The training will take place at the Luis Carpizo naval facility in Campeche from February 17 to March 30, 2025. It has been officially approved by the Mexican Senate’s Naval Ministry Commission and will be conducted under the supervision of the Mexican Defense Ministry (SEDENA). This ensures that while the training benefits from US military expertise, it remains aligned with Mexico’s national defense priorities. -SOFREP

“It’s important to say the Green Berets’ role is going to be just that: Training,” Scott Stewart, vice president of intelligence for international security consultant TorchStone Global, told NewsNation, adding, “It’s not like they’re sending in the SEALs, the Delta (Force) or the (Army) Rangers. It’s not like we are seeing the deployment of combat troops or combat aircraft.”

Stewart suggested that the Mexican government likely permitted the USAF spy planes near cartel-controlled areas to collect SIGINT for law enforcement agencies.

“That may be an attempt to increase signals intelligence – that plane is a vacuum, it sucks up all communications – but I think it would be intelligence to pass to the Mexican marines and not necessarily in preparation for a US airstrike or something,” he noted.

As previously reported:

USAF Spy Plane Runs SIGINT Operation Near Cabo As US Preps For Potential Cartel Fight

USAF Spy Jet Flies Second SIGINT Operation On US Border With Focus On Narco Hub

Border Czar “Expects” Kinetic Warfare Between US Troops & Mexican Drug Cartels

Beyond training, this partnership comes as President Trump recently designated Mexican cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

When reporters asked Trump earlier this month whether he would consider deploying Special Forces operators to Mexico, he responded, “Could happen” and added, “Stranger things have happened.”

ABC News asked Trump administration Border Czar Tom Homan a few weeks ago whether the US military could get involved if cartels strike. Homan replied, “Yes, and we expect them to,” adding that US troops “need to protect themselves.

At the start of the month, in what appeared to be the shortest trade war in history, Mexico and Canada each committed 10,000 troops to their respective borders, while the US reinforced its southern border with thousands of soldiers in the last three weeks.

Last month, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had some strong words for drug cartels.

As we’ve previously noted:

Dismantling Mexican drug cartels could be a very messy operation, which is why the Trump administration fortified the border with the military. The challenge, however, is that if US Special Forces operators kill cartel leaders, retaliatory attacks by cartel members could occur at Mexican beach resorts or, worse, on the streets of US cities. 

This move could mark the beginning of a broader deployment of US Special Forces in Mexico, aimed at dismantling drug cartels responsible for the drug death catastrophe of 100,000 Americans per year. Beyond military action, there is also the possibility that the Trump administration could launch financial hybrid warfare—applying pressure on Mexican banks to disrupt cartel operations. Additionally, Beijing may soon face more pressure from Trump in its role in subsidizing fentanyl precursor exports to Mexico.

Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me