Trump Authorizes Military Action Against Latin American Cartels 

News Desk 

Washington: US President Donald Trump has secretly approved the use of military force against Latin American drug cartels classified by Washington as foreign terrorist organizations, according to a New York Times report.

The authorization would permit US forces to target cartels accused of trafficking narcotics such as fentanyl across the US-Mexico border. Citing sources close to the White House, the New York Post reported that Trump is seeking to “completely destroy” Venezuela’s Cartel de Los Soles and dismantle their operations across the Western Hemisphere.

The anti-cartel initiative is reportedly being coordinated by the Department of Defense, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Treasury Department.

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

In response to the reports, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday ruled out the possibility of US military operations on Mexican soil. “It has nothing to do with Mexican territory… It does not involve our territory,” she said.

Trump has long advocated using military action to curb drug trafficking and illegal immigration, previously sanctioning senior figures in Cartel del Noreste, one of Mexico’s most violent groups.

His administration also used tariff threats to pressure Mexico and Canada into bolstering anti-smuggling measures.

The Trump administration has also accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of collaborating with multiple criminal networks, including the Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel, and Cartel de Los Soles.

On Thursday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, calling him “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”

Weeks into his presidency, Trump’s administration announced the extradition of 29 members of various Mexican cartels, declaring: “The previous administration allowed these criminals to run free… The Trump administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists because that is what they are.”