# Military fiction with modern Mexico as a belligerant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868 "2016-11-24T03:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/1 "2016-11-24T03:01:59Z")
Modern military fiction, science-fiction, and techno thrillers has a fairly robust history, involving many different nations, even aside from the major powers. But one country I can’t recall seeing used in such, actually, is Mexico. There are a number of logical reasons behind this, of course, involving various legal, political, strategic, and military factors. But still, there are always exceptions, especially in fiction. Even the Japanese Self-Defense Force (admittedly a more powerful force, and in more of a position to face military opponents) sees quite a bit of fictional combat, albeit often against monsters or [alien invaders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_(novel_series)). So, I’m asking: can anyone else think of any works where the modern (say, 1945-present) Mexican armed forces are notably involved in a conventional military conflict? “Conventional” as I imagine counterinsurgency or anti-cartel operations are probably somewhat more common. But probably involve fewer (although [not zero](http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/modern/Mexico/Narco_Tanks)) grand armor clashes. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/2 "2016-11-24T03:18:17Z")
This may not fit your exact constraints, but in the book [The War in 2020](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_in_2020#Plot) we see revolutionaries in Mexico serving as a proxy for… get ready… Japan? Hey, in 1991 it seemed totally plausible. Again, maybe not within your constraints, but the book [Warday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warday) (1983) depicts the founding of a Hispanic independent nation-state Aztlan, backed by Japan, occupying parts of Texas, Nevada, and New Mexico in the wake of a US-USSR nuclear exchange. Speculative fiction really seemed to have a boner for Japan back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/3 "2016-11-24T19:50:10Z")
The 1984 _Red Dawn_, arguably. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/4 "2016-11-24T20:39:27Z")
Years back, I saw some crappy dystopian scifi movie on HBO. I don’t remember much at all about it, except that things had gotten so shitty in the US, that Mexico had a serious problem with illegal immigrants sneaking in from the north. IIRC, the protagonists discuss trying to cross, but decide its too dangerous, what with the border security - which, presumably, was the Mexican military. Or at least, militarized police. But I don’t think they were on screen, or served in any plot-relevant function other than a joke and a bit of world-building. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/5 "2016-11-25T02:39:15Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Hispanic independent nation-state Aztlan, backed by Japan, occupying parts of Texas, Nevada, and New Mexico in the wake of a US-USSR nuclear exchange. How did they manage to get into Nevada without going through Arizona or California? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/6 "2016-11-25T05:08:12Z")
\*\*\*Trial by Fire \*\*\*by Harold Coyle. According to the blurb: \*"Enjoying a brief period of peace, the United States is caught by surprise when a government overthrow in Mexico suddenly destabilizes the two countries’ almost 2,000-mile-long undefended border… And \ ***Trial by Fire** _speeds toward an unforgettable climax."_ Copyright on this one is 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/7 "2016-11-25T05:35:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > \*\*\*Trial by Fire \*\*\*by Harold Coyle. According to the blurb: > > \*"Enjoying a brief period of peace, the United States is caught by surprise when a government overthrow in Mexico suddenly destabilizes the two countries’ almost 2,000-mile-long undefended border… And \ ***Trial by Fire** _speeds toward an unforgettable climax."_ > > Copyright on this one is 1992. That’s what I was going to mention. Definitely fits the OP. Coyle was a career Armor officer who left the army when his writing career took off. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/8 "2016-11-25T08:39:26Z")
Not a movie, but Mexico has at least one very significant MegaCorp (essentially companies with the same rights as sovereign countries) in the _Shadowrun_ RPG/computer game universe. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/9 "2016-11-25T09:53:56Z")
Turtledove’s _The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump_ has an aggressive Aztec / Mexican empire in the background, and an Aztec god as the BBEG. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/10 "2016-11-25T14:35:20Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > How did they manage to get into Nevada without going through Arizona or California? I don’t think the book mentioned Arizona specifically, but of course the geography implies it. ---
**Author:** ![Soulcatcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Soulcatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soulcatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/11 "2016-11-25T18:21:19Z")
There is an old RPG game from the 80’s called Twilight 2000 that covers soldier life after WWIII. It has a long background write-up that I always thought was well written and entertaining. Anyway, it includes a Mexican invasion of the US, after the US is exhausted, and tied up in other theatres. Used to be able to find online but I couldn’t find a live link. Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/12 "2016-11-26T04:21:57Z")
Don’t forget _Viva Max_ where elite members of the Mexican Army recaptured the Alamo. Peter Ustinov as the hard-charging general with John Astin as his loyal sidekick. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/13 "2016-11-26T05:04:17Z")
Not quite what the OP is looking for, but in the novel _The Dark Fields_ by Alan Glynn (which inspired the movie and later TV series _Limitless_), there is an undescribed crisis and escalating military tensions along the U.S./Mexican border, and it seems likely that the U.S. is going to invade Mexico as the book ends. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > …Again, maybe not within your constraints, but the book [Warday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warday) (1983) depicts the founding of a Hispanic independent nation-state Aztlan, backed by Japan, occupying parts of Texas, Nevada, and New Mexico in the wake of a US-USSR nuclear exchange… There’s also a passing reference to a new Mexican successor state called Aztlan, without any details, in Max Brooks’s _World War Z_. (And BTW, _Warday_ is a great post-WWIII book). ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/14 "2016-11-26T05:08:55Z")
Anything in alternate history where the Zimmermann Telegram comes to fruition and Mexico joins the Central Powers in war against the US? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/15 "2016-11-26T05:37:17Z")
> [@Soulcatcher](#): > > There is an old RPG game from the 80’s called Twilight 2000 that covers soldier life after WWIII. It has a long background write-up that I always thought was well written and entertaining. Anyway, it includes a Mexican invasion of the US, after the US is exhausted, and tied up in other theatres. > > Used to be able to find online but I couldn’t find a live link. [Here you are.](http://twilight2000.wikia.com/wiki/Twilight_2000_1st_Edition/1998) Everything involving Mexico seems to happen in 1998: > [@](#): > > June 2 - The Mexican government and Soviet Division Cuba sends troops across the Rio Grande. > […] > June - 221st Military Police Brigade leaves Hawaii and travels to California by sea, under the 63rd Corps, immediately involving in combat with the Mexican Army and bands of looters and sucessionist partisans. Soviet Division Cuba moves out of Cuba on Mexican transports and begins supporting the Mexican Army’s attack into Texas. > […] > summer - PRI-PPS alliance seizes power in Mexico, which orders an invasion of Texas. 46th Infantry Division is badly spread out and major elements of the command are quickly overrun. 47th Infantry Division, suffering heavy casualities by limited tactical nuke strikes and Soviet troops, falls back to northern Washington. …and so forth through to November. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-fiction-with-modern-mexico-as-a-belligerant/772868/16 "2016-11-26T16:12:27Z")
Wasn’t the U.S. invaded by Mexico (or was it by Central American Commies via Mexico) in _Red Dawn_?