Jul 21, 2026
Today's Mexican drug cartels haven't abandoned the old playbook of murder, corruption, and intimidation – but they've modernized it. Armed with drones, AI, sophisticated financial networks, and global criminal partnerships, they've transformed organized crime for the 21st century. Cartel expert Vanda Felbab-Brown joins Rep. Dan Crenshaw to explain how they evolved, why they're more powerful than ever, and what the United States must do to stop them.
Vanda Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, where she studies international organized crime, terrorism, and illicit economies. Find her on X at @VFelbabBrown and read her research here: https://www.brookings.edu/people/vanda-felbab-brown/