‘Whatever We Have To Do’: Trump Says He’s ‘OK’ With Striking Inside Mexico ‘To Stop Drugs’

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he’s open to green-lighting strikes inside of Mexico “to stop drugs” from crossing into the United States.

Trump spoke with reporters in the Oval Office about targeting “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean Sea, and said he would be “okay” with using that same strategy to take out out drug runners on land — even if they’re inside of Mexico.

“Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? That’s okay with me,” Trump said. “Whatever we have to do to stop drugs. I looked at Mexico City over the weekend. There’s some big problems over there.”

Asked if he would seek Mexico’s permission before launching a strike on drug traffickers inside of the country, Trump said, “I wouldn’t answer that question.”

“I’ve been speaking to Mexico. They know how I stand,” Trump added. “We have lost hundreds of thousands of people to drugs, so now we’ve stopped the waterways. We know every route. We know the addresses of every drug lord. We know their address. We know their front door. We know everything about every one of them. They’re killing our people. That’s like a war.”

.@POTUS: “We have lost hundreds of thousands of people a year… and much of it comes through Mexico. So, let me just put it this way — I am NOT happy with Mexico.” pic.twitter.com/MzvJreOuEM

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 17, 2025

The president said he would be “proud” to conduct land strikes on drug cartels, adding that he would “probably” go to Congress before striking inside of a foreign country. Trump also discussed potentially hitting “cocaine factories” inside of Colombia.

The Trump administration has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for taking out suspected drug runners in international waters without congressional authorization. Trump has ordered 11 strikes in the Caribbean Sea in the past two months, killing over 80 suspected drug traffickers.

The Trump administration says that at least 85% of drug trafficking through waterways has been stopped following the “narco-terrorist” strikes, but most illegal drugs are snuck into the United States on land, coming in through ports of entry. Most fentanyl trafficked into the United States comes from Mexico or China and is driven across the U.S. southern border in passenger vehicles, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Mexico has said that it would not approve of U.S. military operations on its soil.

“We reject any form of intervention or interference. That’s been very clear, Mexico coordinates and collaborates, but does not subordinate itself,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in April.

NBC News reported earlier this month that the Trump administration is considering deploying troops to Mexico to target drug cartels with drones. Six Mexican cartels were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the State Department just weeks after Trump was sworn in for his second term.