President Donald Trump said Monday he is open to authorizing military strikes inside Mexico to combat drug trafficking, declining to say whether he would seek Mexico’s consent.
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on November 17, 2025, that he would be “okay” with launching strikes inside Mexico “to stop drugs,” adding, “Whatever we have to do to stop drugs.” Asked whether he would seek Mexico’s permission, he replied, “I wouldn’t answer that question,” and said he has been speaking with Mexican officials. Trump also voiced frustration with Mexico’s role in cross‑border trafficking, saying the United States has “lost hundreds of thousands of people to drugs,” a figure that far exceeds federal estimates. According to provisional CDC data, about 80,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2024. (dailywire.com)
Trump linked the idea of land strikes to a broader U.S. campaign against alleged narco‑traffickers at sea. Since early September, the U.S. military has carried out at least 21 lethal strikes on suspected drug‑smuggling vessels in international waters in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, resulting in more than 80 deaths, according to public statements and reporting. The administration has not publicly provided evidence of the vessels’ cargo or the identities of those killed, drawing criticism from lawmakers and legal experts. (reuters.com)
Pressed on process, Trump said he would be “proud” to hit cartel targets on land and would “probably” consult Congress before striking inside another country, according to The Daily Wire’s account of his remarks from the Oval Office. He also floated hitting “cocaine factories” in Colombia; Reuters reported the same day that he suggested he would be willing to knock out Colombian labs. (dailywire.com)
Mexico has repeatedly rejected the prospect of U.S. military action on its soil. In April, President Claudia Sheinbaum said, “We do not agree with any kind of intervention or interference… We coordinate, we collaborate, [but] we are not subordinate,” and she reiterated after an NBC News report this month that such a mission “is not going to happen.” (latimes.com)
The NBC report said the administration had begun detailed planning for a potential covert mission in Mexico involving U.S. troops and intelligence officers, with an emphasis on drone strikes against labs and cartel leadership; Mexican officials publicly dismissed the idea. (nbcwashington.com)
The maritime campaign has accelerated since September. Officials say the strikes target vessels tied to designated terrorist organizations and are conducted under existing legal authorities. A classified Justice Department opinion, reported by major outlets, asserts U.S. personnel involved in the strikes are not legally liable; critics in Congress and human rights groups dispute that rationale and have demanded transparency. (washingtonpost.com)
While the administration argues the campaign is curbing trafficking by sea, independent evidence remains limited. Reporting has documented record cocaine seizures by the U.S. Coast Guard under traditional interdiction methods, and experts note that most fentanyl entering the United States originates in Mexico or China and is smuggled across land ports, often in passenger vehicles, according to the Government Accountability Office. (apnews.com)
In February 2025—weeks after Trump’s second inauguration—the State Department designated six major Mexican cartels, along with MS‑13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, expanding U.S. sanctions and criminal exposure for those who support them. (congress.gov)
