Overview

• On August 8, Trump signed a classified order directing the Pentagon to plan military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
• U.S. military planners have begun drafting options for potential strikes and interdiction missions targeting groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel, MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
• Legal advisers are evaluating whether using force against cartel members outside a formally declared conflict could breach the Posse Comitatus Act and international humanitarian law.
• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly rejected any U.S. troop deployment on Mexican soil, insisting on preserving her country’s sovereignty.
• The move builds on earlier terrorist designations, expanded surveillance flights and a $50 million bounty for information on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to disrupt cartel networks.