President Trump has signed a directive authorizing the Pentagon to deploy U.S. military force against select Latin American drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations. This marks the most aggressive step yet in his administration's campaign against fentanyl and other illicit drugs, framing the fight as a national security issue and aligning with closed-border policies that have already reduced illegal immigration to a fraction of previous levels.

The directive builds on Trump's executive order at the start of his second administration, instructing the State Department to designate cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. In February, the State Department announced the first eight designations, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

The list has since expanded to include two Haitian gangs and Yemen's Houthis. Last month, the Treasury Department designated Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, alleging the group, led by President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials, provides material support to terrorist organizations threatening U.S. security. The administration also doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed the move as "pathetic" and "crude political propaganda."

The U.S. has also designated six major Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations: the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, United Cartels, and the Michoacán Family.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations gives the U.S. government expanded legal authority to act against them.

"It's no longer a law enforcement issue. It becomes a national security issue," he said.

Rubio noted that the designation enables the U.S. to deploy broader tools of national power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, and others, to target these groups whenever opportunities arise.

"We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug dealing organizations," he emphasized.

The order establishes an official basis for potential direct military operations, both at sea and on foreign soil, against cartels. U.S. military officials have begun drafting options ranging from Navy destroyer missile strikes on cartel leaders or infrastructure to deeper cooperation with Mexican authorities. This directive reflects Trump's broader use of military forces for border and immigration enforcement.