“Bluntly stated, Mexico can no longer qualify as a first-world nation; it has functionally lost its sovereignty to muscular criminal cartels that effectively run the country.” (Project 2025, Section 2.3: Department of State, Kiron Skinner, page 215, paragraph 3.) 

Skinner recommends here a “sovereign Mexico” policy, wherein we minimize U.S. intervention in Mexico’s internal affairs.

The U.S. has traditionally been involved in Mexico’s fight against drug cartels through programs like the Mérida Initiative¹. A sovereign Mexico policy might reduce or end U.S. involvement in these operations, leaving Mexico to address drug violence and trafficking independently. The success will hinge on whether Mexico has the resources or capacity to manage these threats alone.

In the next paragraph, Skinner appears to believe that a sovereign Mexico policy will resolve the fentanyl crisis. As I point out in Section 2.1 when discussing why militarizing the border won’t end the fentanyl crisis, “An NPR-Ipsos poll in September 2022 found that “39% of Americans and 60% of Republicans believe that most of the fentanyl entering the U.S. is smuggled in by unauthorized migrants crossing the border.” In fact, 86.3% of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers, and fentanyl smuggling is ultimately funded by U.S. consumers who pay for illicit opioids, 99% of whom are U.S. citizens.” [Source]² Neither will declaring Mexico a sovereign nation magically resolve the fentanyl crisis.