A former acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator says the U.S. crackdown on drug cartels is unlike anything he’s seen before, warning that America can no longer afford to stay on the defensive in the fight against narco-trafficking. 

“We have to be offensive, and we have to go after these threats like we’ve never done before,” Derek Maltz said during “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday.

“I believe that things are right on track, not only with Mexico, but Colombia is another one. Let’s not forget about the massive production of cocaine in Colombia.”

A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle after it was set on fire in Cointzio, Michoacán state, Mexico on Sunday, Feb. 22, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.” (Armando Solis/AP Photo)

Maltz’s comments come after Trump suggested using missiles to target drug cartels during a “Shield of the Americas” summit in Doral, Florida, on Saturday. A new coalition of 13 countries has been formed to advance strategies that will tackle mass illegal immigration, narco-terrorist gangs and cartels. 

“The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks,” he said. “Once and for all, we’ll get rid of them.”

“We’ll use missiles. If you want us to use a missile, they’re extremely accurate… Right into the living room, and that’s the end of that cartel person.”

Maltz said the strengthened approach against drug cartels under the Trump administration reflects a broader change across the hemisphere, with Latin American countries increasingly willing to coordinate against cartel networks.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta seized more over 1,000 pounds of meth linked to the violent “Cartel Jalisco New Generation” last September. (Fox News)

“This administration’s leadership has been unprecedented,” he said. 

“The cartels and our adversaries deal in death, but this administration fights for lives. That message is clear to the world.”

Maltz pointed to recent enforcement actions as evidence the strategy is already producing results, citing major drug seizures across multiple states.

“Just recently, the law enforcement community has been working so hard. 628,000 carfentanil pills were seized in California. That’s 100 times more potent than fentanyl,” he said. 

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“[There were] record amounts of meth seized in Washington state with fentanyl. [In] California, 2,700 pounds of meth, and… conversion labs in Georgia…

“We’re on track now because we’re using law enforcement domestically to decimate these cartels,” he continued. “But now to have these countries uniting… we’ve never seen it.”

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

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