Trump Moves to Use Military Force Against Foreign Drug Cartels

US President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to prepare military action against Latin American drug cartels that Washington has classified as global terrorist organisations.

The directive, first reported by US media on Friday, marks one of the administration’s most aggressive steps yet in its ongoing fight against transnational crime.

Almost immediately, the move triggered a sharp response from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

She pushed back against any suggestion of US military operations crossing into Mexican territory, making it clear there would be “no invasion of Mexico.”

Trump Pushes Pentagon Toward Military Planning
According to The New York Times, Trump told the US military to begin targeting cartels already on the country’s terrorist list.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal revealed that the Defense Department is now drafting potential strategies, which include sending special forces and boosting intelligence-sharing with regional partners.

While the Pentagon redirected inquiries to the White House, Trump’s communications team did not confirm every detail.

However, spokeswoman Anna Kelly stressed that the president remains focused on “protecting the homeland” and highlighted his earlier decisions to label major Latin American trafficking groups as terrorist organisations.

A Growing List of Designated Cartels
Trump’s crackdown has expanded rapidly. In February, the US government named Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, and six other powerful trafficking networks as terrorist entities.

By July, the administration added Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns, accusing it of moving hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades.

On his first day back in office, January 20, Trump signed an executive order establishing the formal process for these designations.

He argued that the cartels represent “a national-security threat beyond traditional organised crime,” signalling his intent to treat them with the same urgency as armed militant groups.

Mexico Holds Its Ground
Sheinbaum wasted no time in reaffirming Mexico’s sovereignty. “We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is absolutely ruled out,” she said.

She explained that in every conversation with US officials, her government has stressed that cross-border military action remains off-limits.

Known in political circles as the “Trump whisperer,” Sheinbaum has often managed to cool tensions between the two leaders.

Yet she continues to face pressure to prove that Mexico is taking decisive steps against its powerful cartels.

Just last month, her administration extradited 29 drug suspects to the United States, aiming to undercut Trump’s threats of new trade tariffs.

As Washington sharpens its rhetoric and military planners explore their options, the standoff highlights a familiar tension: the United States’ drive to confront the cartels head-on, and Mexico’s insistence on defending its territorial boundaries while tackling the problem on its own terms

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