Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino blasted critics who have questioned whether President Trump is serious about taking on South and Central American cartels, insisting the threat has only grown as the cartels expand their technological capabilities. Bongino said the president understands the stakes and will seize every opportunity to strike decisive blows against them.
🚨 BREAKING: Dan Bongino just said the assassination of Mexican cartel kingpin El Mencho is a MAJOR Trump "Donore Doctrine" victory and it's NOT slowing down
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 24, 2026
The US was involved in pressuring Mexico for MONTHS and provided intel for the operation!
LFG, destroy the cartels! 🔥… pic.twitter.com/mUPkyOS3ML
"I addressed this on the show earlier today. This is really important people understand this," Bongino said. "Listen, cartels have always engaged in brutal, extreme violence. We get that. That's not new."
However, what is new with CJNG, Sinaloa and others is the technology and the comms equipment, without giving away too many details—I've lived this with my entire life over the last year—are totally different, Laura. They're not just force multipliers. I mean, you go from the ability to kill hundreds to the ability to kill thousands and dominate entire neighborhoods, which is simple surveillance equipment and comms that are not easy to get into. So, this world is totally changed.
"And now you see an operation like this, where El Mencho gets taken out. I mean, this is a totally different world. The president's not kidding around with this Donroe Doctrine," he added.
The “Donroe Doctrine,” a term blending the president’s name with the Monroe Doctrine, reflects the idea that the United States should assert control over the Western Hemisphere and prevent foreign powers from acting in ways that undermine American interests. The doctrine began taking shape as the U.S. Navy launched operations targeting narco-terrorist vessels attempting to traffic illegal drugs into the country. Its first major operation came earlier this year, when U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan tyrant Nicolás Maduro in his own palace and transported him back to the United States to stand trial.
"I know people are like, oh, Donroe, Monroe doctrine," Bongino went on. "This is not a joke to him. He is not going to let, in this complicated new world of threats, grid systems, EMP attacks, weapons, drones, fusion technology, he is not going to let people set up shop in Central South America, Cuba and elsewhere. He's just, he's not, I don't know why people think he's kidding. He has shown no evidence that he's going to back down at all. And now you see it with El Mencho, thanks to some of our support, you know, six feet deep. And, you know, listen, sorry, man, but he found out."
This comes as members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) have declared war on the Mexican government following the death of their leader, who succumbed to his wounds en route to Mexico City after a firefight with the Mexican military. Violence and chaos have spread across 20 of Mexico’s 30 states, prompting the U.S. State Department to warn American tourists to shelter in place and exercise extreme caution.
Some reports indicate that American citizens have been kidnapped in the midst of the chaos.