Trump Announces Expansion of Military Campaign Against Cartels, Says U.S. Will "Start Hitting Land"
President Trump told Fox News he will expand U.S. military actions against drug cartels to include land strikes, citing success against maritime drug shipments and criticizing Mexico's handling of cartels.
Overview
President Donald Trump told Fox News he plans to expand military action against drug cartels to include land strikes after claiming 97% of maritime drug shipments were stopped.
Trump's remarks followed U.S. maritime strikes and a recent operation in Venezuela that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and drew legal and political criticism.
Trump suggested potential targets could include Mexico and Cuba, and said he offered Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum help to "take out" cartels, which she rejected.
The expansion raises legal and diplomatic questions; the Republican-majority Senate passed a symbolic war powers resolution to limit further action without Congress.
Details remain unclear on where or how land strikes would occur, prompting concerns from Mexican officials who assert sovereignty and call foreign military intervention ineffective.
Analysis
Analysis unavailable for this viewpoint.
Sources (4)
FAQ
Trump’s proposal raises questions about his authority to use force without explicit congressional authorization under the U.S. Constitution, as well as potential violations of international law because unilateral strikes on Mexican territory without consent would breach Mexican sovereignty and could constitute an act of war against a U.S. ally.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly opposed any U.S. military action inside Mexico, warning it would be a grave violation of Mexico’s sovereignty and emphasizing that her government is already dismantling drug labs and increasing enforcement against cartels.
Trump argues that months of U.S. naval operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have successfully disrupted narcoboat traffic—he claims they have stopped about 97% of drugs coming in by water—and he now wants to target cartel operations on land, including in Mexico and Venezuela.
The expanded anti-cartel campaign follows a U.S. special operations raid in Caracas that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at a compound where he was hiding; he was subsequently brought to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges, an action that has generated significant legal and political controversy.
Many Democrats in Congress have warned that unilateral U.S. military action in Mexico would be disastrous, arguing in a public letter that it would destroy trust, undermine bilateral security cooperation, and make it harder to combat drug trafficking, while the Senate has passed a symbolic war powers resolution aimed at limiting further action without Congress’s approval.
History
This story does not have any previous versions.