American Family News spoke to Derek Maltz, a former head of the Special Operations Division (SOD) of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He contends it will be difficult to make meaningful steps against drug trafficking over "an out-of-control border" while President Joe Biden is in office.
"It's not going to happen anytime soon while [Biden] is running the country," he explains. "But at some point, the border is going to have to be treated like a major water leak in your house: the only way to stop the problem immediately is by shutting down the main valve."
In 2022, more than 50 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized by law enforcement. According to the DEA, this represents nearly 380 million doses of fentanyl – which is enough to destroy the U.S. population.
"Thousands will continue to die," Maltz warns. "Drugs are spilling over into the United States at an unprecedented level, so we have to shut down the main valve [in Mexico] that's flooding the country with a variety of drugs and deadly doses of fentanyl."
The fight against "deadly poisons" flooding across the border, he argues, will take more than the drug seizures currently happening at the border and throughout the country.
"[The U.S.] has to take action against cartels like we've never taken," the former DEA exec advises. "If al-Qaeda was in Mexico planning a terrorist attack in Washington, DC, we would be taking action the terrorists.
"Cartels are no longer just drug cartels, [as] they have evolved, growing so powerful that they're running the country [of Mexico]," he points out. "The FBI director, DEA administrator, and Homeland Security director need to be meeting, coming up with a detailed plain on what the country of Mexico can do to help the United States."
Wipe out cartels' infrastructure
Maltz suggests the U.S. offer technology to Mexico that could be used to cripple drug labs. "The labs must be eliminated, and the command-and-control infrastructure of the cartels must be destroyed," he explains.
If Mexico declines to offer help, there should be consequences, he adds. "The president would then have to make a decision on what's in the best interest of American families and kids," Maltz states.
While the goal wouldn't be to go to war with Mexico, the objective he says would be to "cause a lot of pain and suffering" to the cartels.
"It means destroying the drug cartels' capabilities from the sky with the same technology we use in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Africa – and it could crush their supply processes," Maltz says. "In the time it may take them to regroup, Americans lives would be saved."
Continuing efforts to educate and raise awareness about the dangers of drugs and fentanyl would have to accompany such an effort. "We're not teaching kids about the new problems and dangers of synthetic drugs," he contends. "Instead, there are efforts to want to legalize drugs – and that's sending mixed messages."
In a parting shot, Maltz argues that the messaging must get back on track.
"… We have to develop a more comprehensive solution to a comprehensive problem," he argues. "And as far as I'm concerned, having had years of experience, the only way to really stop the immediate problem is by destroying the infrastructure in Mexico, which would stop the flow of drugs into the country."
