Overview

• The secret directive instructs the Pentagon to develop military plans against drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations, paving the way for sea and land operations.
• Officials have repositioned naval vessels, attack submarines and P-8 surveillance aircraft to the southern Caribbean to prepare for potential missions.
• Mexico has publicly rebuffed U.S. unilateral deployments, warning that military actions on its territory would violate sovereignty and strain cooperation.
• Legal advisers warn that military operations without explicit congressional approval could breach the War Powers Resolution, the Posse Comitatus Act and international humanitarian law.
• U.S. editorials, notably the Orange County Register, criticize deploying combat troops for foreign cartel operations, pointing to 1990s intelligence efforts that led to unintended civilian casualties.