The United States Department of War has created a new task force in January 2026 to coordinate a whole-of-government effort to detect, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs, along the Mexico-U.S. border. The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel (JIATF-CC) will be run by U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and based in Tucson, Arizona. “The JIATF-CC will work with the Homeland Security Task Force National Coordination Center to ensure we are sharing all intelligence between our Department of War, law enforcement, and Intelligence Community partners to ensure our operations across the whole-of-government are synchronized and coordinated to have the greatest effect possible on eliminating these narcoterrorist networks,” a USNORTHCOM news release stated.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Maurizio Calabrese was named the task force’s director. Calabrese, an Air Force Academy graduate, has served for nearly 30 years in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles. From June 2020 to June 2022, Calabrese was the commander of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Ohio. In June 2022, he was promoted to deputy commanding general at the Over the Horizon-Counter Terrorism Headquarters. He later served as deputy commanding general of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Central at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. In August 2023, he was appointed director of intelligence and information for USNORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
After an executive order by President Donald J. Trump in January 2025, USNORTHCOM took control of the mission to secure the southern border. Approximately 10,000 active-duty troops were mobilized to bolster those efforts and provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to other U.S. agencies, including the Customs and Border Protection agency. The newly formed task force will hone those operations and increase information sharing and collaboration across the various law enforcement agencies tasked with border security. “The Department of War, in coordination with the Homeland Security Council, unveiled the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said. “This task force’s mission is to coordinate all U.S. government resources deployed to or supporting the efforts in the [U.S. Northern Command] area of responsibility to identify, disrupt and dismantle cartel operations along the U.S.-Mexico border.”
USNORTHCOM and NORAD Commander Gen. Gregory M. Guillot presided over the January 15 ceremony in Tucson. “We are One Team — operating across multiple domains and via traditional and non-traditional means to deliver accurate, timely, and relevant intelligence to execution elements,” Guillot said.