Trump Orders Pentagon to Target Foreign Drug Cartels

President Trump has secretly authorized the military to use force against Latin American drug cartels classified as foreign terrorist organizations.

The move is the most aggressive action Trump has yet taken against gangs trafficking drugs like fentanyl across the US-Mexico border, the activities of which were previously the purview of federal law enforcement.

The order, first reported Friday by the New York Times, gives US forces official permission to engage cartels on land and sea.

“The president is determined to not just dismantle – but completely destroy – [Venezuelan dictator Nicolas] Maduro’s Cartel de Los Soles and obliterate their operations in the Western Hemisphere,” a source close to the White House said.

The State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations involved in drug trafficking include Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Cartel de Los Soles, as well as El Salvador-rooted Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS-13.

Trump, 79, publicly mulled authorizing the military to target drug cartels inside Mexico on the 2024 campaign trail.

Since taking office, the president has upped tariffs on Canada and Mexico, citing their inability to shut down drug and people smuggling into the US — and directing immigration agents to go after new arrivals with gang ties.

Trump has also hosted families impacted by gang violence at the White House and has vowed to strip cartels of their assets to give to families impacted by “migrant crime.”

Maduro, Venezuela’s president since 2013, has been a particular focus of the administration.

The Justice and State departments announced Thursday they would award $50 million to anyone providing details leading to his arrest for violating US drug laws.

The anti-cartel effort is being coordinated among several departments, including the Department of Defense, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Treasury, the source added.

“President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland,” deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement, “which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.”