Former DEA acting administrator Derek Maltz dropped a bombshell on NewsNation’s On Balance, praising Mexico’s government for doing tremendous work against the cartels while urging them to open the door to U.S. military involvement. Speaking on the emerging Trump-Sheinbaum cooperation plan, Maltz argued it could dismantle the narco-terrorists over time—but only if Mexico welcomes American boots on the ground to amplify their efforts. This isn’t just diplomatic chit-chat; it’s a stark admission that cartels, armed to the teeth with military-grade weapons smuggled from U.S. gun stores, have turned Mexico into a war zone spilling blood across our southern border.
For the 2A community, Maltz’s comments cut through the fog like a suppressor on a suppressed AR. Critics love to scapegoat American gun owners for cartel arsenals, peddling the myth that lax U.S. laws flood Mexico with firepower—despite ATF trace data showing most cartel guns are sourced from corrupt Mexican military stockpiles or Central American black markets, not your local FFL. Inviting U.S. forces in flips the script: it spotlights how cartels exploit weak Mexican institutions, not Second Amendment rights, and underscores why designating them as foreign terrorist organizations (as Trump pushes) demands real kinetic action, not ATF stings on straw purchasers. This could vindicate 2A advocates by shifting blame southward, where the real firepower factories thrive under government noses.
The implications? A successful U.S.-Mexico joint op could stem the migrant caravans laced with cartel enforcers and fentanyl precursors, easing border pressures that fuel anti-gun hysteria stateside. But if Sheinbaum balks at Yankee troops—echoing Mexico’s sovereignty saber-rattling—it exposes the hypocrisy: they’ll take billions in U.S. aid but cry foul on actual help. 2A patriots should cheer this as momentum for aggressive counter-cartel strategies that protect our rights by proving the gun-control crowd’s narrative is as full of holes as a cartel safehouse after a raid. Keep an eye on Trump; his plan might just reload the debate on who the real bad guys are.
