Trump Signals Possible US Strikes on Mexican Cartels After Maritime Attacks

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has suggested he may expand his military campaign against Latin American drug cartels to include operations inside Mexico, according to reports by Reuters and NBC.

“Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? It’s OK with me,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Monday. “I’ve been speaking to Mexico. They know how I stand. We’re losing hundreds of thousands of people to drugs.”

The president offered no timeline or details on how such strikes would be carried out. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected any foreign military action on Mexican territory.

Trump’s comments follow NBC’s report that the White House is preparing the early stages of a joint ground operation in Mexico with US intelligence agencies, focusing on drone strikes against cartel figures and drug laboratories.

Trump also indicated that US agencies already have a list of targets. “We know every route. We know the addresses of every drug lord,” he said, adding that the fight against cartels is “like a war” because of the scale of drug-related deaths in the US.

Analysts remain skeptical about the effectiveness of such operations. Garmany noted that Mexico’s cartels are among the most powerful and well-organized criminal networks globally, and limited strikes would likely amount to “a PR stunt” with no significant impact on the drug trade.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has relied on executive powers and legal classifications to authorize strikes without congressional approval, including labeling several cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” This designation allows the White House to justify military operations as national security actions.

Since September, the US has launched at least 20 strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that it claims were transporting drugs, killing at least 80 people. The administration has not publicly confirmed ties between the targets and cartels such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.

The White House describes the campaign as a “non-international armed conflict” against “narcoterrorists” and “unlawful combatants,” reviving language from George W. Bush’s “war on terror” to justify expanded military authority.