The Border Crisis and National Security: What Needs To Be Done?
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE BRIEFING — It’s difficult to clearly understand the real nature of the national security threat that exists at the U.S. southern border, namely because […] More
Mexico
With China’s Help, Mexico Is On The Verge of Becoming a ‘Narco State’
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — Deep inside a ravine on the outskirts of a western Mexican city overseen by among the world’s most powerful drug cartels, 45 […] More
The Real Impact of COVID on Mexico’s Drug Cartels
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, law enforcement has kept a close eye on the impact the virus might have on drug cartels. Supply […] More
The Continued Threat Posed by Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations
Bottom Line Up Front On November 4, 2019, nine Americans were killed in a targeted attack – believed to be perpetrated by a drug […] More
The Latest
Mexico’s Strategic Security Problem
Nine American women and children were killed by suspected drug cartel members in an attack in northern Mexico earlier this month, refocusing attention on the […] More
Mexico’s Internal War: 5 Questions for Michael Vigil
Mike Vigil is the former Chief of International Operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration. He is one of the most highly decorated agents within the […] More
Mexico’s Role in Border Security
The Cipher Brief is taking a look this week at the national security situation along the southern border. On Sunday, Congressman Will Hurd told NBC, […] More
Violence in Mexico and the Battle for Control Over Smuggling Routes
Bottom Line Up Front Murder rates in Mexico are again on the rise due to shifting dynamics between the cartels and a struggle for […] More
Smarter Border Security
The Government remains shut down after President Donald Trump offered a plan over the weekend to provide temporary protection to some groups of immigrants if […] More
U.S. Defense Cooperation with Canada and Mexico Matters Far More Than You Think
Last month, Secretary Mattis and his counterparts from across the Americas met in Mexico City for The Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas to […] More
Why Congress Will Not Build That Wall
The President’s recent tweet storm threatening to close the U.S.’s land border with Mexico and order military action to counter a “dangerous” caravan of asylum […] More
What Does ‘Right’ Look Like at the U.S. Border?
Six years ago this month, almost to the day, Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly accompanied then- Border Chief Michael J. Fisher to the […] More
What a Wall Won’t Fix on the U.S.-Mexico Border
The assumption that a longer, higher wall along the U.S. border with Mexico will improve the nation’s security is wrong. Extending the nearly 700 miles of […] More
Mexico’s Violence Spikes, Fueled by Drug Trafficking, Kidnapping, Corruption
Homicides in Mexico surged by 255 percent from 2015 to 2016, and extortion cases increased by 30 percent, according to a recent American Enterprise Institute […] More
Why Mexican Security is Crumbling – and How That Matters Here
Mexico was ranked the most-worsened country this year on the Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index (FSI), tying with Ethiopia for the bottom spot. Although […] More
U.S., Mexican Militaries Must Keep Working Together, Sharing Intel
Mexico’s stability affects the U.S., and U.S. policy has an effect on its southern neighbor’s stability. The recent Fund for Peace Fragile States Index showed […] More
Setback in Building The Wall
President Donald Trump’s magnificent wall has had its first setback. The original schedule for contractors to produce bids to build initial sections of the wall […] More
DHS Secretary Kelly's Border Remedies Differ from Trump
Last Tuesday, days before the current Trump ordered roundup of illegal aliens began, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly went out of his way to […] More
A Dire Situation in Mexico
Kidnappings in Mexico continue to increase, particularly in the states of Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Morelos, Puebla, Zacatecas, and Tabasco. Although the Interior Ministry reported a […] More