The US government has started planning for a new mission ‘to target drug cartels’ in Mexico, as per an NBC news report citing officials. The potential mission is already in “the early stages of training”, but a deployment to Mexico is not imminent, the NBC news report added. The operation would involve sending American troops and intelligence officers for on-the-ground operations inside Mexico, the report said. The US troops, many of whom would be from JSOC* and CIA**, would operate under the authority of the US intelligence community, known as Title 50 status, the report said. The most famous example of a covert strike using US troops under Title 50 authority was the 2011 Navy SEAL attack on al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The officials also said there are ongoing discussions within the administration on the size and scope of the missions, as per the report. Under the new reported mission being planned, US troops in Mexico would mainly use drone strikes to hit drug labs and cartel members and leadersn18oc_crux n18oc_world 0:00 INTRODUCTION3:20 US ‘CONTINUES TO BOLSTER’ NAVAL PRESENCE IN CARIBBEAN4:42 SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS POSTPONED AMID TENSIONS
