Follow the links in the New York Times article to videos of the Guatemalan raids of Juan Alberto Ortiz López, alias Chamalé (captured and now awaiting extradition to Tampa) to the powerpoint for Fast (Foreign-deployed Advisory Support Team) and the DEA's 2012 budget justification.

Quote from the FAST powerpoint:

Is it a law enforcement mission or is it a military mission?

Both!!!--U.S. law enforcement, the U.S. Military, and the Intelligence Community have no choice but to work closer together. GREEN and BLUE forces must have unity of effort to prevail "When your job takes you into the swamp to hunt snakes, you'll have opportunities to kill or capture some crocs as well - cause they live and multiply in the same, nasty surroundings." Mr. Frankie Shroyer, IATF Director USSOCOM

Any thought that Congress might reel them in and cut back funding is a pipedream. Check out the September, 2011 report by the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control:

To counter the threat of Mexican drug trafficking organizations, transnational youth gangs and other criminal groups in Central America, DEA’s current Sensitive Investigative Unit programs in Guatemala and Panama should be expanded to the other five Central American countries. Given high levels of violence in Honduras and El Salvador, with the permission of these countries, Sensitive Units should be prioritized in these countries. Establishment of Sensitive Investigative Units in Central America would allow for better coordination of complex, multi-country criminal investigations.