The Trump administration has directed the US military to prepare options for lethal strikes against drug cartel targets inside Mexico, with operations to be ready by mid-September, according to a report citing three military sources.
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported Thursday that a Top Secret planning order issued in late spring tasked US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) with developing attack plans against cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations. The directive represents a significant escalation in the administration’s approach to combating drug trafficking organizations.
The planning was discussed at a July meeting at NORTHCOM headquarters in Colorado Springs led by Colby Jenkins, the acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, according to the report. Within days, NORTHCOM Commander Gen. Gregory M. Guillot hosted Mexico’s top military officials: Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo and Navy Secretary Adm. Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles.
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“Today, more than ever, the challenges we face demand a joint, coordinated, and adapted response,” Morales said after the Colorado visit, according to Klippenstein’s report.
The sources said that NORTHCOM has tasked its Special Operations Command North to undertake “operational preparation of the battlespace” inside Mexico and prepare “target packages” for potential strikes against the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The operations could include air strikes, drone attacks, and special operations raids against high-value individuals and supply chain targets.
Military sources also said that any action could be unilateral, conducted without the involvement or approval of the Mexican government.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected the possibility of US military operations on Mexican soil. “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 said in August.
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From earlier: Trump Administration Considers Drone Strikes Against Mexican Drug Cartels
Trump designated multiple cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in February, part of his administration’s broader campaign against fentanyl trafficking, which has killed over 225,000 Americans in recent years.
In a congressional testimony, Gen. Guillot acknowledged that progress against fentanyl has been limited. When asked by Sen. Roger Wicker if the situation had improved, Guillot replied: “No, I, I wouldn’t say it’s better.” He requested additional Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance resources and “expanded authorities” for “advise and assist types of operations between our forces and the tier one Mexican forces.”
The Pentagon declined to comment on specific operational planning. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: “President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.”
Read: US State Department to Label Drug Cartels as Terror Groups
In April, Jenkins told a Senate committee that the foreign terrorist designations did not automatically give the military authority to conduct drone strikes against cartels. The reported July planning session would represent a significant policy shift.
The intelligence community’s 2025 annual threat assessment labeled cartels “the most immediate and direct threat” to US security, according to multiple sources.
Any unilateral US military action in Mexico would likely strain relations with one of America’s largest trading partners and closest neighbors, where opposition to US military intervention runs deep due to historical precedents.
Trump has repeatedly described cartel drug trafficking as an “invasion” of the United States, language that administration officials say justifies a military response similar to post-9/11 counterterrorism operations.
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