US President Donald Trump indicated in a new interview that the American military could begin land strikes against drug cartels in Mexico as part of an expanded campaign against narcotics trafficking.
“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,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview aired Thursday night. He added that cartels “are running Mexico” and said it was “very sad” to witness the situation there.
Trump’s remarks mark a significant escalation in his administration’s approach to combating drug smuggling and cartel influence, coming less than a week after US forces struck Venezuela and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a controversial operation.
The White House did not immediately comment on Trump’s suggestion. The president has previously raised the idea of military action across the US–Mexico border to tackle cartels, though such moves would raise complex legal and diplomatic questions.
In November, Trump told reporters he would consider attacks in Mexico “to stop drugs,” but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded firmly, saying any US military action would require her country’s permission and reaffirming Mexico’s sovereignty.
Sheinbaum also condemned the recent US capture of Maduro and stressed that while cooperation with Washington is welcome, “subordination and intervention” will not be accepted.
Trump’s expanded rhetoric on hitting cartels on land follows a series of 35 known strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, conducted under a campaign the US describes as targeting narcotics networks.
The proposal has drawn mixed reactions in the US and abroad, with some lawmakers seeking greater congressional oversight of military actions and others warning against unilateral operations without Mexican consent.
Read more: Attaullah Tarar Calls PTI ‘Political Wing of TTP,’ Fitna Al-Khawarij
