Topic Guide
What Is Mexican cartels?
Mexican cartels is a subject covered in depth across 1 podcast episode in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.
Key Concepts in Mexican cartels
Deep state
This refers to the belief that unelected, entrenched individuals within the federal government undermine the policies and goals of elected and politically appointed officials. Secretary Noem claims it is "as bad as it is" and recounts instances of her own employees spying on her to obstruct the administration's agenda [23:29, 25:32].
Critical infrastructure
Defined by law as systems and assets vital to national security, economic security, and public health and safety. DHS is responsible for securing these, which include the electrical grid, water systems, food supply chain, and election systems, all vulnerable to cyberattacks from foreign adversaries [16:20, 52:05].
Foreign terrorist organization (fto)
A designation given by the U.S. government to foreign organizations that engage in terrorist activity. President Trump designated cartels as FTOs, recognizing them as a significant threat to American people, allowing for more aggressive action against their operations [43:58].
Real id
A federal law passed over 20 years ago, mandating minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards to be accepted for federal purposes, such as boarding domestic flights. Secretary Noem describes its implementation by DHS to ensure individuals are who they say they are for security purposes [56:10, 57:11].
What Experts Say About Mexican cartels
- 1.China poses a multi-generational threat to the United States, aiming to become the world's dominant power through a "hundreds, if not thousand-year plan" that includes undermining U.S. food supply, intellectual property, and critical infrastructure [10:11, 13:15].
- 2.Secretary Noem discovered a "Deep State" operating within the Department of Homeland Security, including a secret facility with unknown files on controversial topics and her own employees installing spyware on her phone and laptop to record meetings [21:27, 22:28].
- 3.As Governor of South Dakota, Noem banned Chinese land ownership in her state and restricted TikTok on state devices, recognizing China's strategic efforts to control essential U.S. resources [10:11, 11:13].
- 4.DHS's cybersecurity agency, CISA, faces severe underfunding due to congressional inaction, which compromises the agency's ability to hunt down bad actors and harden critical infrastructure against sophisticated hacking attempts [17:22, 18:22].
- 5.The Trump administration implemented a comprehensive strategy for border security, including strong messaging to deter illegal immigration and facilitating the voluntary return of over 2.5 million individuals through various programs [33:42, 34:44].
- 6.Mexican cartels have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations, and their increasing strength, particularly visible in Mexico, is seen as a direct consequence of lax border enforcement and lack of pushback against criminals [43:58, 44:59].