Overview

• President Trump signed a covert directive on August 8 authorizing U.S. military forces to engage Mexican drug cartels overseas.
• The order expands the administration’s counternarcotics approach into a direct military counterterrorism campaign.
• Pentagon planners have begun drafting operational options for targeting cartel networks such as Sinaloa and CJNG.
• Tier One special operations units, including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6, are likely to lead the clandestine missions.
• Mexico’s government has condemned the actions as a violation of sovereignty and raised questions about legal authority.