Trump signals possible US strikes against Mexican drug cartels
US President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that the United States might expand its military strikes against Latin American drug cartels to include Mexico. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he had been in discussions with Mexican authorities and emphasized the scale of the drug crisis in the US, citing “hundreds of thousands” of deaths from substances like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and fentanyl.
Trump did not provide specific details on timing or methods but suggested the US already has intelligence on cartel leaders and their locations. The remarks follow reports that the White House is preparing an operation focusing on drone strikes against Mexican drug labs, coordinated with US intelligence agencies, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has opposed any US military strikes on Mexican soil. Analysts note that while Trump has invoked executive authority and classified certain cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” to justify action without Congressional approval, significant legal and diplomatic obstacles remain.
Experts warn that strikes in Mexico may have limited impact due to the cartels’ power and organization, describing such actions as potentially more symbolic than effective in curbing the illegal drug trade. Since September, Trump’s administration has already carried out at least 20 strikes on drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, reportedly killing at least 80 people, though evidence of cartel connections has not been publicly released.
Trump characterized the drug fight as “like a war” and framed his approach as targeting “narcoterrorists” and “unlawful combatants,” reviving legal concepts first used during the US “war on terror.”
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