For over a year, the Pentagon has kept approximately 9,000 active-duty troops deployed along more than 3,200 kilometers of the U.S. southwest border, with the stated goal of countering irregular migration, smuggling, and drug cartels. The troops remain at their posts—at a cost of tens of millions of dollars weekly—even though the Trump administration achieved its primary objective of drastically reducing illegal crossings months ago.
This was revealed in an extensive report published on June 23 by *The New York Times*, written by national security correspondent Eric Schmitt.
Far from subsiding, tensions in the area have escalated. According to congressional officials cited by the *Times*, following the death of the cartel leader known as “El Mencho”—killed in February with CIA support—U.S. military personnel discovered their phones had been hacked and began receiving threatening messages.
Military patrols, operating in coordination with Customs and Border Protection and the Mexican army, have pushed the cartels into more remote mountainous areas to evade detection. However, no drone attacks or U.S. casualties have been reported, according to military commanders consulted by the newspaper.
The Pentagon reported in May that the first four months of the operation alone cost $525 million, though the department declined to disclose the total amount accumulated to date.
