The U.S. plans to send troops to Mexico to attack drug cartels

The administration of President Donald Trump has begun to devise a new and ambitious military mission to send U.S. troops into Mexican territory with the aim of directly targeting drug cartels.

According to two active officials and two former senior officials from the United States government, confirmed to NBC News, the operation would include ground actions and drone strikes targeting laboratories, members, and leaders of the major criminal organizations in the neighboring country.

Although the discussions are advanced, officials clarified that an imminent deployment is not anticipated and that the White House has not yet made a final decision.

The initiative would represent a drastic change compared to previous administrations, which were limited to support and intelligence tasks alongside Mexican forces, without directly participating in combat operations.

The units involved, many of them belonging to the Joint Special Operations Command, would operate under the authority of the U.S. intelligence community, pursuant to Title 50, allowing for covert operations involving the CIA.

"The Trump administration is committed to using all state resources to protect American citizens from the threats posed by cartels," stated a senior official of the Executive, without providing further details.

According to sources consulted by NBC News, the strategy anticipates the use of military drones controlled by operators on the ground, which would require the physical presence of personnel in Mexico.

In February, the State Department had already designated six Mexican cartels—along with MS-13 and the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua—as foreign terrorist organizations, thereby granting greater legal scope for military and espionage actions.

The U.S. project has caused concern in Mexico City. President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected any possibility of direct intervention: “Mexico coordinates and collaborates, but does not subordinate itself,” she stated at a press conference.

Nonetheless, his government has allowed for the expansion of CIA surveillance flights and has intensified anti-narcotics cooperation with Washington, deploying 10,000 soldiers to the border and extraditing more than 50 criminal leaders.

The measure is part of Trump’s increasing military campaign against drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, following attacks on suspicious vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The president has emphasized that cartels represent a direct threat to national security and has warned that “anyone who attempts to introduce drugs into the United States will face lethal punishment.”

If realized, the mission would open a new front in U.S. foreign policy and could strain relations between Washington and Mexico at a crucial time for bilateral cooperation.