Optimizing Use of the Armed Forces in Combating Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations
by Braden Civins
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The drug war in Mexico threatens the stability of the Mexican federal government, catalyzes widespread border crossing by undocumented aliens (UDAs), and imperils U.S. citizens on both sides of the border. This note examines one proposal to address these concerns—additional deployment of the military along the southwest (SW) border—and the legal issues potentially raised by this response. Part I of this note provides background information on the nature of the problem. Part II traces the law governing military support to civilian law enforcement agencies (MSCLEA) with respect to counternarcotics (CN) operations along the southwest (SW) border. Part III examines how the law will either constrain or facilitate MSCLEA with respect to surveillance and detention operations. Part IV offers recommendations to improve the utility of military deployment to the border to combat drug trafficking organizations (DTOs).
Download The Full Article: Optimizing Use of the Armed Forces in Combating Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations
Braden Civins, a native Texan, is in his fourth and final year of study at The University of Texas, pursuing a J.D. from The School of Law and a Master of Global Policy Studies, with a specialization in Security Studies, from the L.B.J. School of Public Affairs. At the law school, he is a member of the Texas International Law Journal and former participant in the National Security Clinic, where he co-authored an ultimately successful appellate brief on behalf of a Guantanamo Bay detainee. During the academic year, he works as a student employee of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law. He spent recent summers working at the Criminal Prosecutions Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Department of State.
