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The rift between the U.S. and Mexico continues to widen. After four Americans were kidnapped in Mexico — with two being killed — Republicans in Congress called for American military action against Mexican drug cartels. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador fired back, demanding that “Mexico be respected.”
Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette notes that any kind of U.S. military excursion south of the border would be a huge mistake that could put both countries on a path to a conflict with no benefits.
The relations between Mexico and the United States have been icy since members of a Mexican drug cartel kidnapped four Americans in the northern border city of Matamoros. Two of those Americans died. One of them had traveled to Mexico to get a medical procedure at a much lower price than it would have cost in the United States. That discount came at a high price.
Former Attorney General William Barr has urged the United States to “use every tool at our disposal inside Mexico to battle Mexican drug cartels,” which he described as “Narco terrorist groups.” Did you catch that “inside Mexico?” Inside?
See, Barr thinks the United States should send the military or CIA operatives to capture and kill Mexican citizens on Mexican soil while circumventing Mexican authorities. Sure, great plan. What could possibly go wrong? We’re not talking about surgical strikes here. There would be significant collateral damage. What Barr doesn’t know or care to know is that the narcotraficantes are integrated into Mexican society. Kill one and very likely innocent Mexican civilians will be killed in the process. If that happens, it’s Katy bar the door.
We could be looking at a repeat of what happened in 1848. That was the last time that the United States, intoxicated by the elixir of manifest destiny, invaded Mexico. U.S. troops marched all the way to Mexico City to persuade the leaders of that country to hand over more than half of its territory, at the end of a rifle. Trust me, that is a humiliation that Mexicans have never forgotten.
