Derek Maltz, a former acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator argued that President Trump's designation of the Mexican cartels as international terrorist organizatiosn has been vindicated by the chaos that has erupted in Mexico, after the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), El Mencho, was killed by Mexican security forces during a raid in Tapalpa, Jalisco, where he succumbed to wounds en route to Mexico City.
Within hours, CJNG members unleashed widespread violence across Mexico: blocking highways with burning vehicles across states like Jalisco, Michoacán, and others; attacking Puerto Vallarta's airport and resort areas; and killing at least 25 National Guard members in ambushes. Schools closed, public transport halted, and the U.S. issued shelter-in-place warnings for Americans in affected regions.
Maltz argued that when President Trump said he would put the safety and security of Americans first, he meant it. That was why the cartels were designated as terrorist organizations early in his administration.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump has just been VINDICATED on the world stage after Mexican cartels terrorize civilians
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 23, 2026
Trump was RIGHT to demand military obliteration of the cartels!
FORMER DEA ADMINISTRATOR: "This is a WAKE-UP CALL for the world about the TREACHERY of Mexican… pic.twitter.com/FK26lMRgYD
"President Trump, before he got elected, said placing the safety and security of Americans would be a top priority, and he's a man of action," Maltz said on Fox News. "So to answer your question about the Americans, no, it's very dangerous in Mexico. It's been dangerous there for many years."
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Right now, this is a wake-up call for the world about the treachery of the Mexican cartels. That's why President Trump declared them as terrorists. Would the Americans want to go visit, you know, the middle of Al-Qaeda Central, right? So right now, what we're witnessing, especially on social media, it highlights the level of control and power the cartels have in Mexico.They're blowing up buses. They're shutting down roads. There's blockades in up to 20 states. They're burning buildings, right? So yeah, it's very dangerous in there.
"I feel confident, though, with our State Department professionalism. With the warnings, the communication is going out all over the social media. I think that they're going to be fine," he continued. "It's just isolated, it appears. I've gotten some reporting that it's kind of like leveled off a little bit. I hope that's true. But you know, again, you can't go into the middle of an area where terrorists are. It's not safe in certain areas."
Despite Maltz's hopeful claims, violence has yet to level off in Mexico. While homicides are down from their peak, the chaos has spread across 20 of the country's 30 states, and reports have emerged that American tourists have been kidnapped in Puerto Vallarta.
#BREAKING: State Dept. says U.S. citizens may have been kidnapped in Puerto Vallarta.
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) February 23, 2026
From the state department website: pic.twitter.com/uhK3jo2LDx
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) February 23, 2026
"And so, you know, it's just very dangerous," Maltz said. "But let's not downplay the Americans that are in danger today because we had millions of unknown people coming into this country, ghost criminals all over this place. So we have a big issue. We got to continue to fight hard."
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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