Overview

• On August 18 the DEA formally launched Proyecto Portero at a southwest U.S. intelligence center with a multiweek training program for U.S. and Mexican law enforcement, prosecutors, defense officials and intelligence partners.
• The initiative targets cartel “guardianes” who oversee smuggling corridors for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine into the U.S. and manage arms shipments and illicit cash flows back to Mexico.
• Proyecto Portero builds on the February designation of six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations to leverage expanded sanctions, asset freezes and antiterrorism statutes.
• DEA Administrator Terrance Cole identified fentanyl as the most urgent threat and highlighted the growing risk from mixtures laced with veterinary sedatives driving overdose fatalities.
• Real-time intelligence sharing under Homeland Security Task Force coordination aims to dismantle cartel logistical networks and financial operations as part of a broader U.S. countercartel strategy.