- The Trump administration is preparing covert U.S. special forces and CIA operations inside Mexico to target cartel fentanyl labs and leaders.
- Plans risk violating Mexican sovereignty and international law, fueling diplomatic backlash and potential regional instability.
The White House is quietly training U.S. special forces and CIA operatives for covert missions inside Mexico to strike at drug cartel strongholds, marking a dramatic escalation in President Donald Trump’s war on narco-terrorists flooding America with fentanyl.
Two current U.S. officials and two former senior officials told NBC News that planning is underway for troops and intelligence officers to cross the border, focusing on drone attacks against fentanyl labs and targeted hits on cartel leaders—all while avoiding a full-scale invasion that could spark an international crisis.
A senior Trump administration official pushed back on the idea of boots-on-the-ground chaos, insisting the goal is an “all-of-government approach to address the threats cartels pose to American citizens.”
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But the leaks come amid a string of aggressive moves: at least 15 U.S. strikes on suspected cartel smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since early 2025, killing multiple operatives the Pentagon links to Mexican and Venezuelan gangs.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has drawn a hard line. Back in August, she flatly ruled out any U.S. military footprint: “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.”
She repeated the stance in May after Trump personally floated sending troops during a tense phone call, with Sheinbaum later telling supporters that “sovereignty is not for sale.”
Trump didn’t mince words in response, blasting Sheinbaum aboard Air Force One: “Well she’s so afraid of the cartels she can’t walk, so you know that’s the reason.”
Strikes Inside Mexico Are “On the Table”
The president has long framed the cartels as an existential threat, comparing them to ISIS and vowing to treat them accordingly. The groundwork for these ops traces back to Trump’s first weeks in office. On January 20, 2025, he signed Executive Order 14157, kicking off the process to label cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
By February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated eight groups—including the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, Gulf Cartel, and others—as both FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
That tag unlocks military tools once reserved for al-Qaida, like asset freezes, travel bans, and—crucially—the legal cover for lethal force abroad. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been blunt about the shift. In a February post on X, he declared: “The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans. The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate.”
He later told interviewers that strikes inside Mexico are “on the table,” adding, “Should there be other options necessary… we will take that on.”
The buildup hasn’t stopped at rhetoric. U.S. Northern Command has surged 5,000 active-duty troops to the border, flown at least 18 high-altitude surveillance missions tracking cartel routes, and ramped up CIA overflights inside Mexico—with Sheinbaum’s quiet approval for the intel-sharing.
In August, Trump secretly signed a directive authorizing the Pentagon to draft land-and-sea attack plans, focused on “capturing or killing people involved in the drug trade.”
Mexico has delivered results under the pressure: 900 cartel arrests since October 2024, including two top Sinaloa figures, plus the extradition of 29 high-ranking kingpins to U.S. custody.
Sheinbaum’s forces have shuttered fentanyl labs and handed over leaders from the Juarez and Sinaloa factions. Yet cartel bosses are reportedly rattled—hiding out, scaling back operations, and whispering that Trump’s threats feel different this time.
Critics Warn Against Such Attacks
Critics in Congress and abroad warn of blowback. Deploying troops without Mexico’s explicit buy-in could violate international law and ignite a sovereignty showdown.
Venezuela’s Jorge Rodríguez called it “a threat to the entire Caribbean and the Americas,” accusing Washington of normalizing invasions.
Even some Trump nominees, like ambassador pick Ronald Johnson, hedged in Senate hearings: unilateral action should be a last resort, done “in partnership” with Mexico.
Inside the White House, aides are split—hawkish voices push for unilateral strikes if Sheinbaum drags her feet, while diplomats urge joint ops to avoid torching bilateral ties.
The Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command is already rehearsing scenarios, but officials stress nothing is imminent.
For now, the border hums with U.S. drones and Mexican patrols, while fentanyl deaths keep climbing—over 100,000 Americans lost last year alone. Trump has made clear he won’t wait forever. As one former official put it, the cartels “haven’t felt this much stress in years.”
Whether that pressure forces a breakthrough—or a border war—could define the hemisphere for decades.
Also Read: Trump Now Threatens Military Action Against U.S. Ally
