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yesterday

Trump Authorizes Pentagon to Plan Military Strikes on Terror-Designated Drug Cartels

Legal reviews of military authority overseas coupled with Mexico’s veto on U.S. forces cast doubt on immediate deployments despite orders to plan sea and land strikes against cartel networks.

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The Trump administration designated Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs as well as Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as global terrorist organizations in February.
Police officers work in a crime scene where a man was gunned down, as violence and economic turmoil escalate in Culiacan one year after the abduction and extradition of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada to the United States, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Jesus Bustamante/File Photo
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Overview

  • President Trump secretly signed an August 8 directive instructing the Pentagon to develop options for direct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels labeled as foreign terrorist organizations.
  • The administration’s terrorist designations cover major Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation along with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles.
  • U.S. officials warn no strikes appear imminent amid unresolved legal questions over Posse Comitatus constraints and the authority to use lethal force against civilian suspects outside a declared conflict.
  • Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected any U.S. military presence in Mexico, limiting cooperation to intelligence sharing and law enforcement support on cartel investigations.
  • Alongside military planning, the White House has imposed sanctions, pursued extraditions of cartel leaders and offered a $50 million bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to weaken transnational drug networks.