President Trump is planning to send US troops to Mexico in the latest escalation against drug cartels.
The mission is in early stages but plans would include ground operations inside Mexico and drone strikes on drug labs and cartel leaders, four sources familiar with the effort told NBC News.
If green-lit, the plan would exponentially expand on the administration’s ongoing military campaign against drug cartels, which have so far focused on Venezuela and Colombia with drone strikes against suspected drug cartel vessels in the Caribbean and Atlantic.
So far 64 people have been killed in the 15 strikes that began taking place in early September.
The latest was carried out in the Caribbean Sea over the weekend against an undisclosed terrorist organization, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that three people were taken out in the strike.
Past US administrations have quietly deployed military, law enforcement and intelligence forces to support Mexican police and army units fighting drug cartels.
But current plans would be more boisterous and would see the US taking direct action against them – maybe even without Mexican cooperation.
It’s not clear how many troops would be deployed and what the timeline is for a potential operation. Two current US officials and one former official claim that a deployment to Mexico is not imminent.
The Trump administration is planning to put troops on the ground in Mexico to combat drug cartels and gangs, according to a new report
Four current and former US officials claim that operations would mainly focus on drone strikes against drug labs and cartel leaders in Mexico. Pictured: US soldiers were stations along the Mexican border after Trump declared 110,000 acres of land was National Defense Area
They also say that Trump has not ruled out operation without coordination with the Mexican government – though they say the president would prefer to work with the US’s southern neighbors.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a news conference in the spring: ‘We reject any form of intervention or interference. That’s been very clear, Mexico coordinates and collaborates, but does not subordinate itself.’
The Pentagon referred the Daily Mail to the White House when reached about the latest reporting. The White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to request for comment.
While discussions about the scope of the mission are ongoing, it appears if a deployment were to happen the troops would be coming from Joint Special Operations Command and would operate under the Title 50 status authority of the US intelligence community.
Officers from the CIA would also participate in operations, the sources detailed.
The two current and former officials told NBC that the administration would want to maintain secrecy around its operations and not publicize every action association with the deployment like it has done with drone strikes against drug smuggling boats.
The State Department in February designated six Mexican drug cartels, the Salvadoran gang MS-13 and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as foreign terrorist organizations.
The action gave authority to US intelligence agencies and military units to conduct covert operations against these criminal organizations.
The new operations would be an escalation of the fight against drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as Trump has already ordered drone strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean
US Military crews have bombed and intercepted multiple boats suspected of smuggling drugs in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean
The new mission would mostly focus on the use of drone strikes to wipe out drug labs and take out cartel and gang leaders and members, the sources claim. But some of the drones required for such bombings require operators to be on the ground.
Operations against Venezuela are in direct opposition to the Maduro government ruling the country. But the plans for Mexico would not be aimed at undermining their government, according to the officials.
President Sheinbaum already allowed the CIA to expand surveillance flights in Mexico. Also under her leadership, Mexico deployed 10,000 of its troops to the border to thwart illegal crossings into the US, increased its fentanyl seizures and extradited 55 senior cartel figures.
