NEW: Trump Suggests Navy Motion In opposition to Mexican Drug Cartels Is Imminent
President Donald Trump suggested during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that military action against Mexican drug cartels could be coming within the next several weeks.
Trump pointed to recent U.S. military action in the lead-up to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, which included more than two-dozen maritime strikes on Venezuelan and Colombian drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific.
“We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico, it’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country,” the president said. Trump also pointed to the cost of drug-trafficking in the United States, which has led to more than 100,000 overdose deaths on a yearly basis.
This statement follows the Trump administration’s prior designation of several cartels as terrorist organizations. On his first day in office during his second term, President Trump signed Executive Order 14157, titled “Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”
On February 6, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that eight entities met the criteria for designation as both Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). These designations took effect on February 20, 2025, upon publication in the Federal Register.
The Mexican-based groups included the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), Gulf Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cárteles Unidos, along with transnational gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Tren de Aragua.
These designations allow for enhanced enforcement measures, including sanctions, asset freezes, and potential military or law enforcement measures under counterterrorism authorities. Individuals found to have financed or otherwise coordinated with groups designated as FTOs can also face prosecution.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed that such actions would constitute a violation of Mexican sovereignty and scrambled to arrange a diplomatic solution with the Trump Administration. She instructed her foreign minister, Juan Ramon de la Fuente, to engage directly with U.S. counterparts, including potentially Trump himself, to enhance bilateral security cooperation.
Sheinbaum claimed that U.S. weapons are responsible for cartel violence and floated increased security cooperation and trade as preferable alternatives to unilateral U.S. military action.
Trump provided no specific details on the scope, timing, or methods of the proposed land-based actions. Possible scenarios could include targeted drone strikes on cartel infrastructure, such as fentanyl labs or leadership sites, similar to maritime operations conducted on international drug-trafficking organizations since September of last year.