Terrorists on the Border and in Our Country

CHARLES A. MARINO (COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA) is a Nationally recognized security expert, strategic advisor, opinion leader, and writer with deep knowledge of security methodologies, tactics, and technology. A former Senior Law Enforcement Advisor to Secretary of Homeland Security and Supervisory Special Agent for the Secret Service and Chief Executive Officer of Sentinel Security Solutions, a leading Global Security and Crisis Management firm. The author lives & works in the Columbia metro area charlesmarino.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS to TERRORISTS ON THE BORDER AND IN OUR COUNTRY by Charles A. MarinoSummary:  China, Russia, the radical Left’s shift to authoritarianism, global pandemics. There are myriad threats to U.S. citizens right now, but few are neither as dire nor as close to home as those posed by Mexico’s ruthless cartels. From flooding the States with deadly fentanyl, to killing, kidnapping, and offering safe passage to illegal immigrants, MS-13 gangsters and jihadi terrorists, the cartels have become more than a pesky Bordertown problem but a genuine threat to America’s national security. Through 12 chapters, national security expert Charles Marino tells how the cartels came into power and exposes ongoing policy problems before outlining pragmatic, nonpartisan steps on how the U.S. can combat … the cartel threat.  


Chapter 1. The Current Cartel Threat






Anecdote: March 7, 2023, Americans Murdered in Matamoros.
Overview of daily threats Americans face.
Single biggest threat to U.S. national security. 



Chapter 2. Mexico’s vast resources—and its longstanding tradition of corruption. 






Stats on Mexico’s GDP, resources, poverty, and crime rate.  



Chapter 3.  Politics & U.S./Mexico Relations


Chapter 4. The Dangerous Southwest Border






U.S. crime, drug, murder, and immigration statistics at the border.
Compare with interior U.S. and Canadian border stats. 



Chapter 5. Defining the Cartels





Who are they and how they operate.



Chapter 6.  Specific Threats to US Citizens and the U.S. Itself






Drug trafficking from cocaine to fentanyl.
Kidnapping, crime, murder & extortion.
South American-style gang violence via Mexico.
Human trafficking.
Jihadi terrorism via Mexico.
The China connection.

Economic destruction and strained infrastructure from illegal immigration.



Chapter 7. Why past U.S. & Mexican attempts at dismantling cartels have failed






Government corruption.
Weak law enforcement & judicial institutions.
Treated solely as law enforcement problem.
Decriminalization of drugs/demand.



Chapter 8. Blaming America for Mexico’s problems 






Mexico’s systemic poverty and corruption is root cause, not America’s prosperity.



Chapter 9.  A New Approach






Designate the Mexican Cartels as terrorist organizations.
U.S. whole of government approach, unilateral if necessary.
Simultaneous LE operations against cartel members living within the US.
Focused fed, state, & local enforcement of fentanyl dealers.
Enhanced penalties & sentencing.



Chapter 10. Bringing the Fight to the Cartels






Use of law enforcement, intel, & military



Chapter 11. What we must do right now, before it’s too late






Secure the border
Increased budget & staffing
Allowed to do the jobs hired to do
Policies do not undercut operational statutory authorities  



Chapter 12. Postlude 





Revisit the devastating effect that the Mexican Cartels have had on both Mexican and U.S. citizens.
Provide the reader with the likely results of the new approach.