Trump Weighs Military Action Against Cartels Designated as Terrorist Groups
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to prepare plans for using military force against drug cartels officially designated as foreign terrorist organizations, according to reports by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Officials familiar with the matter say options under discussion include deploying U.S. special forces and providing expanded intelligence support, with any operation to be coordinated alongside foreign partners.
While the White House has not confirmed the reports, spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump’s “top priority is protecting the homeland,” citing his decision earlier this year to label several cartels and gangs as terrorist groups.
In February, the United States designated Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, and six other Latin American trafficking organizations as terror groups. The U.S. embassy in Mexico later vowed that both nations would use “every tool at our disposal” to combat them.
However, Mexico’s foreign ministry quickly stressed that it would not allow U.S. troops to operate on its soil.
The Trump administration has since added another Venezuelan group — the Cartel of the Suns — accused of moving hundreds of tons of narcotics into the U.S. over two decades. Washington alleges Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro leads the cartel, an accusation Caracas dismissed as a “ridiculous smokescreen.”
On his first day back in the White House, January 20, Trump signed an executive order establishing a formal process for declaring cartels as national security threats, going beyond the scope of traditional organized crime.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EWTN on Thursday that the designation allows the U.S. to “use other elements of American power — intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever — to target these groups.” He argued that cartels should be treated as “armed terrorist organizations” rather than just criminal enterprises.
Trump has repeatedly accused Mexican cartels of murder and rape, vowing in March to “wage war” on them. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, responding to talk of possible U.S. military action, firmly stated on Friday that there would be “no invasion” of Mexico.
“We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is ruled out,” she said.
Sheinbaum, nicknamed the “Trump whisperer” for easing past tensions over tariffs and border disputes, has emphasized her government’s efforts to curb fentanyl trafficking and dismantle cartel operations.
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