Trump's Potential Invasion of Mexico and His Validation of Putin
President Trump declared Mexican cartels as terrorists [1], deployed active troops to the southern border [2], whereof he declared an invasion is ongoing [3].
If President Trump actually decides to invade Mexico using the pretext of attacking terrorism, since cartels are now designated as such, another war on terrorism will commence, mirroring the justification for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that killed over 200,000 civilians. It also provides justification for China, Russia, and any other countries with imperial territorial ambitions to invade countries at their own discretion, endangering the National Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity principle established in the UN Charter after world war 2.
The main issues facing Americans today are the healthcare crisis, the housing crisis, and the massive wealth inequality crisis. Invading Mexico, Greenland, Canada, and Panama does nothing to address these crises. It does fit the familiar narrative of corrupt rulers framing invasions as a threat to sovereignty so they can portray themselves as defenders of the nation against foreign invaders, rallying public support by appealing to patriotism or nationalism while deflecting blame for internal problems, like the 3 major crises just mentioned. If Trump were to continue this pattern, he would then suppress critics of his rule by accusing them of collaborating with the invaders or being unpatriotic, justifying their imprisonment, exile or execution. He signed an executive order praising the use of capital punishment so he may go so far to use it on his political dissenters, like Putin, Xi, and other authoritarian rulers do [4].
We already know his modus operandi as President is to divide et impera, or divide and rule, by pitting ordinary Americans against each other rather than steering their attention to those actually responsible-the elite class of society which Trump is also embedded in. He signed an executive order attempting to repeal one of the most sacred constitutional amendments-birthright citizenship enshrined in the 14th amendment, a destabilizing and divisive first act by the felon president convicted for defrauding a presidential election [5].
We will have to see how far he will go in his imperial ambitions. With his MAGA party majority in both chambers of the legislature and supermajority in the Supreme Court, these next two years will require extra vigilance for those of us who cherish the freedoms our veterans died fighting to protect from the tyrannies of the world.
References
1. Trump, Donald J. "Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists." The White House, January 20, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/designating-cartels-and-other-organizations-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations-and-specially-designated-global-terrorists/. Accessed January 23, 2025. Referenced from paragraph 10. ↩
2. Trump, Donald J. "Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States." The White House, January 20, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-emergency-at-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states/. Accessed January 23, 2025. Referenced from paragraph 9. ↩
3. Trump, Donald J. "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion." The White House, January 20, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/guaranteeing-the-states-protection-against-invasion/. Accessed January 23, 2025. Referenced from paragraph 10. ↩
4. Trump, Donald J. "Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety." The White House, January 20, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-the-death-penalty-and-protecting-public-safety/. Accessed January 23, 2025. Referenced from paragraph 9. ↩
5. Trump, Donald J. "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship." The White House, January 20, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/. Accessed January 23, 2025. Referenced from paragraph 9. ↩