The U.S. Homeland Security Role in the Mexican War Against Drug Cartels

March 2011, a law enforcement bulletin warned that cartels were overheard plotting to kill ICE agents and Texas Rangers guarding the border using AK–47s by shooting at them from across the border. These are acts of terrorism as defined by Federal law. The shooting of Special Agents Zapata and Avila is a game-changer which alters the landscape of the United States’ involvement in Mexico’s war against the drug cartels. For the first time in 25 years the cartels are now targeting American law enforcement.