In a recent television interview on Fox News, former U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider authorizing ground military operations against drug cartels in Mexico, escalating his long-standing claims that criminal organizations wield outsized control in the country.
Trump did not offer specifics on where or when such operations might take place, but said action would begin quickly, framing the cartels as terrorist groups responsible for widespread violence and drug-related deaths in the United States.
“It’s very sad what’s happening in that country,” Trump said, claiming the cartels are behind hundreds of thousands of deaths linked to narcotics trafficking.
Trump has already designated eight Mexican drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and described fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction,” moves that expanded the legal framework for targeting transnational criminal networks.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly rejected any suggestion of U.S. military intervention on Mexican soil, stressing that such actions would violate national sovereignty. She has emphasized that while Mexico remains open to bilateral cooperation on security and law enforcement, it will not accept unilateral use of force within its territory.
Trump’s remarks come amid heightened regional tensions following a recent U.S. operation in Venezuela that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro, an event that has intensified scrutiny of Washington’s approach to organized crime in Latin America. Trump has previously suggested that similar measures could be considered elsewhere, fueling speculation about the administration’s next moves.
Despite the rhetoric, analysts note that a direct U.S. military intervention in Mexico would face significant diplomatic, legal, and political obstacles. Both governments continue to publicly emphasize cooperation against organized crime, even as Trump’s comments raise fresh questions about how far the United States might be willing to go.
