Trump reportedly pitches "assassination squads" in extreme Mexico policy

Palm Beach, Florida - Donald Trump reportedly plans to get rid of Mexico's most infamous cartel leaders via assassination if he manages to win re-election in November.

Former president Donald Trump is reportedly planning to use special forces to assassinate cartel leaders in Mexico if he wins re-election in 2024.
Former president Donald Trump is reportedly planning to use special forces to assassinate cartel leaders in Mexico if he wins re-election in 2024.  © ALMOND NGAN / AFP

According to Rolling Stone, several sources close to the former president claim he has "privately endorsed the idea of covertly deploying – with or without the Mexican government’s consent – special-ops units that would be tasked with, among other missions, assassinating the leaders and top enforcers of Mexico's powerful and most notorious drug cartels."

In private discussions, Trump has proposed the US government create a "kill list of drug lords" as he believes the US military has "tougher killers than they do."

He has insisted that drug cartels should be approached in the same way the US has used force in fighting ISIS, and has likened his proposals to the 2019 military raid he ordered that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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Rolling Stone says that during Trump's presidential administration, his extreme views on battling drug cartels were once considered fringe, but they have "now become a mainstream GOP policy proposal" as the party obsesses over immigration and drug trafficking.

Trump has also promised massive deportations of migrants to Mexico "on day one" and the overturning of birthright citizenship if re-elected.

Cover photo: ALMOND NGAN / AFP

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