President Donald Trump fires back at Vladimir Putin following Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine, the Treasury Department reveals a new approach to combating drug cartels, and Hollywood enjoys a record-breaking box office over Memorial Day weekend. 
It’s Tuesday, May 27, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Russia Strikes Ukraine</h2>
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Topline: President Trump rails against Russian President Vladimir Putin after he launches another aerial attack on Ukraine.
Over the weekend, Russia launched a series of air assaults on Ukrainian cities, deploying hundreds of attack drones and dozens of missiles. Those strikes killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more — many civilians — in what Ukraine <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russian-drone-fragments-set-kyiv-apartment-building-ablaze-official-says-2025-05-24/">called</a> the most extensive aerial bombardment of the three-year war. 
In recent months, there had been hopes that a peace deal was within reach, but Putin appears to be making clear that he’s pushing ahead, despite increased threats of sanctions from the West. Ukrainian intelligence <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/russias-casualties-war-against-ukraine-095937828.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAM3atsZc41kCSRMKSfurjA_lU-16DhBVMjma8L5udzrwkvFa0KgXegrcgN4PLiL5kMS7G5o-tI97OUCDDVv0q_D28ERp7U8aWOO1ONbadwbiQg0sOb-32woFiDBFhUNANBcGjAoYOUBI1FcOyeD46QfZpkI09tXrEb_Zwy9CY8KJ">reportedly</a> shows that Moscow is gathering forces near the front line in preparation for a summer offensive. 
In response to those attacks, President Trump offered his <a href="https://x.com/yashar/status/1926775198956572815">strongest condemnation</a> of Putin to date. “I don&#8217;t know what the hell happened to Putin. I&#8217;ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he&#8217;s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don&#8217;t like it at all. Okay, we&#8217;re in the middle of talking and he&#8217;s shooting rockets into Kiev and other cities.“ Later, on social media, the president appeared to make a veiled threat against Putin, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114571369956761390">writing,</a> “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right. But if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!” 
However, this new anti-Putin rhetoric hasn’t exactly led to friendlier relations with Ukraine. Trump also said over the weekend that “Zelensky is doing his country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems.” 
Meanwhile, on Friday, Trump accused the Europeans of being “difficult to deal with” during trade negotiations, saying “discussions are going nowhere.”  The president threatened a 50% tariff that would kick in on June 1. That seemingly got their attention, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the White House over the weekend to say “Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively.” As a result of that new willingness to make a deal, Trump agreed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-delays-50-tariffs-eu-leader-blinks?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Delays+50%25+Tariffs+On+EU+After+Its+Leader+Blinks">pause</a> his tariff hike until July 9 so an agreement could be reached. 
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<h2>Freezing Cartel Funds</h2>
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Topline:  Trump enlists the Treasury Department in his sweeping crackdown on drug cartels.
President Trump promised a “whole of government” approach to combating drug cartels. While the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Border Patrol have obvious roles to play, the Treasury Department is taking steps to crack down on money laundering.
“One of the most important things that the president did upon coming into office was to declare a number of the narco groups terrorist organizations,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender told The Daily Wire. “[That] unleashes additional authorities at Treasury for us to better target some of the financial activities that these cartels are engaging in. It&#8217;s one thing to have our partners at DHS work on stopping the flow of people and drugs, but we can also use our financial tools to go after the money – because if the money is not flowing back south, then there&#8217;s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north.”
Among other things, Faulkender explained why Brinks Global was fined $37 million. “There is a statute called the Bank Secrecy Act that requires that if you&#8217;re going to facilitate transfers of monetary sums, that you need to know who the party is that is receiving this money, that is engaging in this transaction. And so what we did is our Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is called FinCEN, they launched an investigation into how this money was flowing south of the border – and found that Brinks had facilitated some of these money transfers without knowing who the parties were that were participating in this transaction.”
For the full interview, check out the Morning Wire podcast.
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<h2>Box Office Bonanza</h2>
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Topline: The box office for the holiday weekend blew away expectations. Disney’s live-action &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; and Paramount’s &#8220;Mission: Impossible 8&#8221; set records to kick off the summer blockbuster season.
&#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; and &#8220;Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning&#8221; provide a much-needed shot in the arm for theaters nationwide. According to studio estimates, &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; grossed a staggering $183 million domestically. That’s an all-time Disney record for this time frame. Its global haul was $342 million. Meanwhile, &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221; brought in a franchise-best $77 million domestically and $190 million worldwide. Taken together, Hollywood hopes this is a game-changer for an industry that’s been fighting to regain that pre-pandemic momentum.
Social media buzz for &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch,&#8221; especially from younger women and parents, has been off the charts with an “A” CinemaScore signaling strong word-of-mouth. Posts on X captured the excitement, with fans showing up in Stitch merch and plushies, turning screenings into events. This kind of cultural resonance is exactly what Disney banks on with its IP-driven strategy – sometimes successfully, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snow-white-bombs-with-one-of-disneys-lowest-opening-weekends-for-a-remake">sometimes not</a>.
While it didn’t reach the heights of &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch,&#8221; &#8220;Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning&#8221; is unquestionably a triumph for Tom Cruise. The film’s opening beat the previous franchise record set by &#8220;Mission: Impossible – Fallout&#8221; in 2018 by $14 million, not adjusted for inflation.
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Morning Brief: Trump Blasts Putin, Cartel Crackdowns & Box Office Bonanza

Cartels

Disney

Donald Trump

Drug Cartels

Media

Mission Impossible

Morning Wire

Paramount

Politics

Russia

Tom Cruise

Treasury Department

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

The Trump administration has tapped the Treasury Department to track down and halt the flow of money to foreign drug cartels.
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender says the federal agency is choking off the cash flow that powers cartels’ human and drug smuggling operations by designating them as terrorists, he explained to The Daily Wire.
“One of the most important things that the president did upon coming into office was to declare a number of the narco groups terrorist organizations,&#8221; Faulkender told The Daily Wire. &#8220;What that does is it unleashes additional authorities at Treasury for us to better target some of the financial activities that these cartels are engaging in.&#8221;
Faulkender told The Daily Wire that the agency’s moves are cutting into the cartels’ flow of money, disincentivizing their human smuggling and drug-running operations.
“It&#8217;s one thing to have our partners at [the Department of Homeland Security] work on stopping the flow of people and drugs, but we can also use our financial tools to go after the money,” the Treasury official explained. “If the money is not flowing back south, then there&#8217;s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north.”
“Since the president took office, we&#8217;ve engaged in five different actions going after nine different entities for a total of 16 individuals,” he noted.
The Treasury Department unveiled sanctions on “two high-ranking members of the Mexico-based Cartel del Noreste,” a foreign terrorist organization formerly known as Los Zetas.
Cartel del Noreste “and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping, and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent charged. “We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities.”
That move follows the Treasury Department&#8217;s March announcement that it was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-treasury-dept-launches-sanctions-targeting-sinaloa-cartel">imposing sanctions</a> on six individuals and seven organizations believed to be laundering money for the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most notorious criminal organizations and a federally-designated foreign terror organization.
“We leveled sanctions against six individuals and seven entities involved in a money laundering operation, cutting off financing for these evil people,” Bessent said at the time. “Laundered drug money is the lifeblood of the Sinaloa Cartel’s narco-terrorist enterprise, only made possible through trusted financial facilitators like those we have designated today.”
Treasury also hit Brink’s Global Services, which specializes in transporting funds and other valuables for banks and other clients, with a <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-announces-37000000-civil-money-penalty-against-brinks-global-services-usa">$37 million civil penalty</a>, alleging that the company moved money across the southern border without following anti-money laundering regulations. The company’s violations, the Treasury Department says, exposed “the U.S. financial system to a heightened risk of money laundering, including from narcotics trafficking and other illicit activity.”
Faulkender says the Trump administration isn’t just launching a whole-of-government approach to combat the cartels’ drug and human smuggling, but is also pushing the Mexican government to track and penalize the flow of cartel money.
“The president imposed tariffs on the Mexican government and on products that are coming in from Mexico to elicit participation and cooperation from the Mexican government, and so we are seeing the Mexican government willing to work with us to go after these financial networks that are enriching the cartels,” he told The Daily Wire, adding that the government is “monitoring the money flows, tracking it down, either putting a complete stop to it and, and seizing that money, or at the very least, making it a lot more expensive for them to move that money around and try to deter them from engaging in these kinds of actions.”

Bank notes part of a seizure of more tha

EXCLUSIVE: Treasury Official Lays Out How Trump Is Choking Off Cash Flow To Cartels

Border

Crime

Department of the Treasury

Immigration

Sinaloa Cartel

President Donald Trump panned the notion of birthright citizenship on Thursday ahead of arguments on the subject at the Supreme Court, saying that it&#8217;s bad for the United States and good for illegal aliens who want to gain a foothold in the country. &#8220;The drug cartels love it!&#8221; he said.
Trump laid out his complaint in a lengthy post to his Truth Social platform, arguing that the practice was outdated and that in the 21st century, there was no place for a policy that automatically conferred citizenship to every baby born on American soil.
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<a href="https://t.co/97tfkVKsq2">pic.twitter.com/97tfkVKsq2</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1922987140612231249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Big case today in the United States Supreme Court,&#8221; Trump began. &#8220;Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the &#8216;SUCKERS&#8217; that we are!&#8221;
&#8220;The United States of America is the only Country in the World that does this, for what reason, nobody knows — But the drug cartels love it!&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We are, for the sake of being politically correct, a STUPID Country but, in actuality, this is the exact opposite of being politically correct, and it is yet another point that leads to the dysfunction of America.&#8221;
Trump went on to explain the roots of birthright citizenship as a policy, noting that it dated back to the end of the Civil War.
&#8220;Birthright Citizenship is about the babies of slaves,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;As conclusive proof, the Civil War ended in 1865, the Bill went to Congress less than a year later, in 1866, and was passed shortly after that. It had nothing to do with Illegal Immigration for people wanting to SCAM our Country, from all parts of the World, which they have done for many years. It had to do with Civil War results, and the babies of slaves who our politicians felt, correctly, needed protection.&#8221;
&#8220;Please explain this to the Supreme Court of the United States,&#8221; the president added. &#8220;Again, remember, the Civil War ended in 1865, and the Bill goes to Congress in 1866 — We didn’t have people pouring into our Country from all over South America, and the rest of the World. It wasn’t even a subject. What we had were the BABIES OF SLAVES. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Good luck with this very important case. GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.!&#8221;
Trump followed that a short time later with a second post, once again referencing the policy&#8217;s origin just after the Civil War ended: &#8220;Remember, it all started right after the Civil War ended, it had nothing to do with current day Immigration Policy!&#8221;
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) echoed Trump&#8217;s thoughts in a post to X, saying, &#8220;Granting birthright citizenship to illegal aliens is unlawful and it has contributed to the highest levels of illegal immigration in history. President Trump is right to call to end this farce.&#8221;
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Granting birthright citizenship to illegal aliens is unlawful and it has contributed to the highest levels of illegal immigration in history.
President Trump is right to call to end this farce.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1923043445439975585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote>

Trump Sounds Off On Birthright Citizenship Ahead Of SCOTUS Argument: ‘Drug Cartels Love It’

Trump Sounds Off On Birthright Citizenship Ahead Of SCOTUS Argument: 'Drug Cartels Love It'

birthright citizenship

Illegal Immigration

Supreme Court

Mexico rejects President Donald Trump’s offer to fight drug cartels with the U.S. military, Trump wants to bring movie production back to Hollywood, and Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signs a law limiting social media use for children.
It’s Tuesday, May 6, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Cartels are &quot;Destroying Our Country&quot; PLUS Saving Hollywood from the Libs" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VDNviNvOMG8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Mexico Rejects Offer For U.S. Troops To Fight Cartels</h2>
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Topline: Mexico refuses President Trump’s offer to “send in the troops” to battle drug cartels.
Trump confirmed to journalists this week that he asked Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, if the United States military could be sent across the southern border to fight the cartels during a phone call with her on April 16th. Trump added that the cartels “are horrible people who’ve been killing people left and right” and addressed their role in both the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration into the United States.
Sheinbaum rejected that offer, stating that the two countries can collaborate, but “with you in your territory and us in ours.”
This all comes as Mexico has struggled with ongoing turf wars between the cartels. One <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-shootout-gunmen-killed-guanajuato-state-cartels/">gunfight</a> between cartel members earlier this year resulted in three police officers being injured and the death of ten cartel gunmen.
There have been reports that the administration was considering military action for months now. In the first few weeks of his presidency, Trump’s State Department designated eight different cartels and gangs, including the Sinaloa and New Generation cartels, as foreign terror organizations. NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-weighs-drone-strikes-mexican-cartels-rcna198930">reported</a> last month that administration officials were exploring the possibility of using drone strikes against the cartels to take out their leadership or knock out their logistics sites. That report said the administration had not ruled out taking unilateral action against the cartels without the support of the Mexican government.
The Trump administration has already begun flying <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-us-trump-drones-cia-13af9277fbbbf6ff4dfd470efc9cb647">surveillance drones</a> over Mexico, at the request of Sheinbaum. The New York Times reported that the CIA was conducting the surveillance flights with the intention of locating fentanyl labs.
<h2>Trump Floats Tariffs To Protect Tinsel Town</h2>
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Topline: Can Trump &#8216;Make Hollywood Work Again?&#8217; Or will his plan to “revive” the film industry end up on the cutting room floor?
President Trump made waves in Hollywood on Monday after announcing plans to impose a 100% tariff on all foreign-made films. The president says this move will revive a “dying” American movie industry.
Trump argued that countries like Australia, the U.K., and Canada are luring American productions away with generous tax incentives. He also said that these foreign films often contain propaganda, which he described as a “national security threat.”
Essentially, Trump said that foreign interests have destroyed Hollywood, and imposing tariffs would encourage domestic production. However, the details of how this would be implemented are murky at this point.
Context: 40% fewer films and TV shows are now shot in the U.S. compared to before the actors’ and writers’ strikes of 2023. Last year, Los Angeles saw its worst on-location filming rate in history, with the exception of 2020, when productions were shut down because of the COVID pandemic. Of all the TV shows and feature films that Americans watch, only 20% are now made in California.
The Motion Picture Association, which represents major studios, has declined to comment. But industry scuttlebutt is that studios don’t like the proposed tariff because it would make filming more expensive, while workers in crew positions and technical roles generally back the idea. There’s also concern about retaliation—China has already reduced U.S. film quotas in its market, and Europe, where U.S. films dominate, could impose tit-for-tat tariffs, crippling Hollywood’s $15.3 billion trade surplus.
<h2>Virginia Restricts Social Media Access For Kids</h2>
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Topline: Virginia severely cuts social media use for kids, restricting children to one hour of social media per day.
Virginia passed a first-of-its-kind bill to limit social media time for minors. Under the “Consumer Data Protection Act,” Virginia residents under the age of 16 will have a one-hour default time limit on their social media scrolling. However, if a parent wants to override that default setting, they’ll be able to do so.
Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the bill into law on Friday. The bill garnered broad support from Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the state. Youngkin wanted the bill to go further: he pushed for it to extend to residents under 18 years old, and also wanted the legislation to limit addictive features like autoplay on videos and infinite scrolling.
“Our children are losing the chance to cultivate essential social skills,” Youngkin <a href="https://x.com/TeamYoungkin/status/1735411843789910372">said</a>. “They are encountering cyberbullying and they’re isolated. There’s substantial distractions in schools, escalating depression, and sleep disorders. Tech companies promised to give people the power to build communities and bring the world closer together, but children are more lonely than ever.”
Other states have enacted similar legislation:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">In California, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill in 2024 that prohibits platforms from providing &#8220;addictive” social media feeds to minors without parental consent. It also restricts companies from sending notifications to minors during certain hours, like late-night hours on a school night.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill requiring social media companies to verify the age of users, and terminate accounts of kids under the age of 14. Fourteen and 15-year-olds can have accounts on social media if they have parental consent. If a company is found violating that law, it could face fines of up to $50,000 per violation.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Utah enforces a &#8220;social media curfew.” Minors there can’t access social media between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., unless a parent overrides that default setting.</li>
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Morning Brief: Mexico Shields Cartels And Trump Tariffs Hollywood

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Mexico

Social Media

Tariffs

Virginia

CNN faced widespread mockery on social media over the weekend after interviewing a masked Sinaloa Cartel gangster who, rather than criticizing President Trump&#8217;s terrorist designation as seemingly expected, expressed “respect” for the commander-in-chief for &#8220;looking out for his people.&#8221;
The interview, aired Saturday, featured CNN correspondent Isobel Yeung questioning a heavily disguised cartel member in an undisclosed hideout in Mexico, according to the New York Post.
“According to the Trump administration, you are a terrorist. … What do you make of that?” Yeung asked.
Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/designating-cartels-and-other-organizations-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations-and-specially-designated-global-terrorists/">designated</a> the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in a January 20 executive order, with the State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/">writing</a> that the cartel is “one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States.”
The masked gangster, wearing sunglasses and latex gloves to conceal his identity, initially <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/05/05/us-news/cnn-roasted-for-interviewing-sinaloa-cartel-gangster-asking-how-he-felt-about-trump-labeling-him-a-terrorist/">responded</a>, &#8220;Well, the situation is ugly, but we have to eat.&#8221;
When asked what he would say directly to Trump, the cartel member didn’t take the bait.
&#8220;My respect. According to him, he&#8217;s looking out for his people,&#8221; the gangster stated, adding, &#8220;But the problem is the consumers are in the United States. If there weren&#8217;t any consumers, we would stop.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
CNN is now sitting down with foreign terrorist drug traffickers to ask how they feel about Trump’s policies and being labeled terrorists. UNREAL. <a href="https://t.co/xNlMTtPZg7">pic.twitter.com/xNlMTtPZg7</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1919084379009163745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
Social media erupted with mockery of CNN&#8217;s apparent attempt to elicit anti-Trump commentary from a member of a violent drug trafficking organization.
&#8220;CNN tried to create a scandal and accidentally gave Trump a campaign ad. You can’t script this kind of desperation,&#8221; one user <a href="https://x.com/wakeninq2/status/1918538833303408845">remarked</a>.
&#8220;Unbelievably, CNN gives Sinaloa cartel member a chance to throw a pity party about being labeled a terrorist, but the cartel member tells them President Trump is just rightly &#8216;looking after his people,'&#8221; another social media user <a href="https://x.com/dotconnectinga/status/1919241365700931675">pointed out</a>.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1919247712173670591">suggested</a>, &#8220;Let them [CNN] live under the rule of foreign terrorist drug traffickers for a few months. And then tell us how they feel.&#8221;
A February 20 State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/">fact sheet</a> on the terrorist designation for the cartel writes that it uses “violence to murder, kidnap, and intimidate civilians, government officials, and journalists.”
A Foreign Terrorist Organization classification expands federal authorities&#8217; ability to combat these criminal enterprises through financial sanctions, enhanced prosecutions, and immigration restrictions.

CNN Ruthlessly Mocked After Interview With Cartel Member Backfires

U.S.

President Donald Trump is pressuring Mexico to allow the United States military to get further involved in the fight against drug cartels, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trump-mexicos-sheinbaum-spar-over-drug-cartels-f3aae16c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Friday.
The Journal, citing &#8220;people familiar with the discussions,&#8221; reported that a 45-minute phone call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on April 16 got heated after Trump pushed for the U.S. military to lead in the fight against cartels. Sheinbaum reportedly was not willing to allow the United States to take direct military action against the cartels inside Mexico.
Trump has made fighting the cartels a top priority of his goal to secure the southern border and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-it-is-time-for-america-to-wage-war-on-the-cartels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowing</a> to &#8220;wage war on the cartels&#8221; and designating them as foreign terrorist organizations. Shortly after his April 16 phone call with Sheinbaum, Trump told Fox News&#8217; Spanish-speaking network that “Mexico is very, very afraid of the cartels.”
“We want to help her. We want to help Mexico, because you can’t run a country like that. You just can’t,” he added.
According to the <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/NDTA_2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drug Enforcement Administration</a>, &#8220;The deadly reach of the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels into U.S. communities is extended by the wholesale-level traffickers and street dealers bringing the cartels’ drugs to market, sometimes creating their own deadly drug mixtures, and exploiting social media and messaging applications to advertise and sell to customers.&#8221;
After Trump designated numerous cartels as terrorist organizations, Sheinbaum pushed for a constitutional reform to further protect Mexico&#8217;s sovereignty, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-was-not-consulted-us-designation-cartels-terrorist-organizations-2025-02-20/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;The Mexican people will under no circumstances accept interventions, intrusions, or any other action from abroad that are detrimental to the integrity, independence, or sovereignty of the nation&#8230; (including) violations of Mexican territory, whether by land, sea, or air,&#8221; the Mexican president said.
The Trump administration has reportedly considered using drone strikes against cartels in Mexico, and Trump&#8217;s border czar Tom Homan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-homan-tells-daily-wire-trump-will-use-full-might-of-government-to-crush-cartels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Daily Wire in March that Trump would &#8220;use the full might of the federal government to take them out.&#8221;
“We’re not just going to attack them on the southern border, we’re going to attack them across the globe,&#8221; Homan added.
Trump is negotiating with Mexico on two fronts, seeking to increase military cooperation while also pushing for a trade deal with the country. The president slapped a 25% tariff on Mexico on February 1, pushing the country to do more to stop fentanyl trafficking and secure its border with the United States. After Mexico was hit with the tariff, Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 troops to the border.

Trump Pressures Mexico To Allow U.S. Military To Lead Fight Against Drug Cartels

Claudia Sheinbaum

The Trump administration’s Department of the Treasury announced new sanctions on Tuesday against four different cartel drug lords accused of peddling fentanyl into the United States.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched the sanctions against four different individuals associated with La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), a violent Mexican drug cartel that has smuggled illegal aliens and deadly drugs into the United States and is designated as a foreign terror organization.
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to intensify the pressure on violent drug cartels like LNFM, who continue to traffic deadly fentanyl and other drugs, smuggle illegal aliens over our Southwest border, and attack law enforcement,” Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0087">charged</a>. “The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to target the cartels and other violent organizations that attempt to exploit our communities and harm Americans.”
The sanctions freeze any and all property owned by these four individuals currently present in the United States and require financial institutions to immediately report them to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Their cartel, the Treasury Department pointed out, traffics people, fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine into the United States and carries out kidnappings and murders in Mexico.
The sanctions specifically target four siblings, including the co-leaders of the cartel, Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. The State Department recently announced cash prizes of $5 million and $3 million, respectively, for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the two cartel leaders. The Treasury also hit two siblings of Johnny and Jose, Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga, with sanctions.
“Ubaldo oversees sicarios, or hitmen, for LNFM and has illegally mined and extracted mercury and uranium for the organization,” the Treasury wrote, adding that “Adita has trafficked arms for her brothers from the United States into Mexico to use against rival cartels in Mexico” and has laundered drug proceeds for the foreign terror organization.
These sanctions come after the Treasury announced an earlier round of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-treasury-dept-launches-sanctions-targeting-sinaloa-cartel?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=14&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump%E2%80%99s+Treasury+Dept+Launches+Sanctions+Targeting+Sinaloa+Cartel">sanctions</a> against six people tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, another notorious criminal organization that is now designated as a foreign terror organization.

Trump and Bessent

Trump’s Treasury Sanctions Cartel Drug-Runners Behind Fentanyl Trafficking, Human Smuggling

Scott Bessent

The Trump administration’s Treasury Department announced today that it is imposing sanctions aimed at wiping out funding for the Sinaloa Cartel, a violent and notorious drug cartel that was recently designated as a foreign terror organization.
“We’ve taken decisive action against the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most notoriously violent criminal and drug trafficking organizations in the world,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an announcement posted to X on Monday. “We leveled sanctions against six individuals and seven entities involved in a money laundering operation, cutting off financing for these evil people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
National security is economic security. Today, the <a href="https://twitter.com/USTreasury?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USTreasury</a> Department proudly leveled new sanctions against financiers of the criminal Sinaloa drug cartel, which has flooded our borders with fentanyl and senselessly murdered innocent American citizens. This ends under… <a href="https://t.co/b4uLng8RNN">pic.twitter.com/b4uLng8RNN</a>
— Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent/status/1906756180619264450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
“The Sinaloa Cartel has invaded our southern border. They have tortured and murdered countless of our citizens, dedicated law enforcement agents like Kiki Camarena and veterans like Nicholas Quets, who was only 31 years old when he was ruthlessly taken from us,” Bessent went on to charge.
Bessent added that the foreign terror organization is responsible for a “significant amount of the fentanyl and illicit drugs brought into the United States,” adding that those drugs “continue to kill innocent Americans and destroy families every single day.”
“Laundered drug money is the lifeblood of the Sinaloa Cartel’s narco-terrorist enterprise, only made possible through trusted financial facilitators like those we have designated today,” the Treasury Secretary also <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0064">noted</a>.
The Treasury Department spotlighted the specific individuals and organizations hit by the sanctions, also explaining that any of their assets held in institutions in the United States are now required to be frozen and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The sanctions come just after the Trump administration’s State Department named the Sinaloa Cartel a foreign terror organization, <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20Department%20of%20State,as%20Foreign%20Terrorist%20Organizations%20(FTOs">describing</a> it as “one of the world’s most powerful drug cartels&#8221; and &#8220;one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States.”
“Cartel de Sinaloa has used violence to murder, kidnap, and intimidate civilians, government officials, and journalists,” the State Department added.
Various different agencies in the Trump administration have recently taken action to crack down on the cartels. FBI Director Kash Patel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-extradites-top-ms-13-leader-from-mexico-to-face-american-justice">announced</a> earlier this month that the federal law enforcement agency had extradited a leader of the violent criminal gang MS-13 from Mexico.
The administration has also invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the removal of suspected Tren de Aragua members. Multiple left-wing judges, including one who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-who-upheld-block-of-trumps-deportation-flights-is-a-major-dem-donor">donated</a> five figures to Democrats, have ruled against the use of the act to remove the illegal aliens, prompting the Trump administration to call for the Supreme Court to weigh in.

Bessent and Trump

Trump’s Treasury Dept Launches Sanctions Targeting Sinaloa Cartel

Fentanyl

Treasury

The United States Navy is reportedly planning to send a second destroyer to patrol the waters around the southern border as part of President Donald Trump&#8217;s historic crackdown on illegal immigration and drugs.
U.S. Northern Command deployed the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely to the Gulf of America on March 15, 2025, to work with the U.S. Coast Guard in drug interdiction missions.
A <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/03/19/navy-plans-deploy-second-destroyer-patrol-waters-off-us-and-mexico-week.html">report</a> from Military.com on Wednesday said that the Navy was deploying a second destroyer to the region to further bolster efforts to secure the border.
The U.S. Coast Guard seemingly confirmed the news this week when it issued a statement that said U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) has &#8220;deployed two U.S. Navy warships to the southern border to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Coast Guard operations.&#8221;
&#8220;These U.S. Navy warships will operate in direct support of the Coast Guard and carry Coast Guard law enforcement teams that will enable them to shift to Coast Guard control during interdiction operations,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4124185/coast-guard-achieves-major-milestone-in-drug-interdiction-border-control-operat/">statement</a> read. &#8220;As the Coast Guard hardens and sustains its operational posture, including the arrival of these U.S. Navy warships, it is fully integrated with DHS and the Department of Defense (DoD) through NORTHCOM and U.S. Southern Command.&#8221;
The arrival of destroyers to the region is a significant development in America&#8217;s fight against Mexican drug cartels as destroyers have significantly greater capabilities, are larger, and carry a more extensive and far more lethal array of weapons than cutter ships that the Coast Guard uses.
The news comes as the administration has already deployed more than 10,000 active-duty soldiers to help secure the southern border, which led to the U.S. experiencing the lowest number of border apprehensions of illegal border crossers in recorded history during Trump&#8217;s first full month in office.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-considers-buffer-zone-on-border-to-boost-illegal-immigration-crack-down">Pentagon Considers Buffer Zone On Border To Boost Illegal Immigration Crack Down</a>

U.S. Navy Sets Destroyers On Standby For Possible Strike On Syria

U.S. Navy Deploys Multiple Warships To Waters Around Southern Border

Gulf of America

Military

U.S. Navy

US Navy

FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday that the federal law enforcement agency had extradited a man from Mexico who is believed to be a “senior leader” of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
“The FBI has extradited one of our &#8216;Ten Most Wanted&#8217; from Mexico — one we believe to be a key senior leader of MS-13, Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales,” Patel announced <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1902008572088909884">in a post</a> on X. “He was arrested in Mexico and is being transported within the U.S. as we speak, where he will face American justice.”
“This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America. Thank you to our brave personnel for executing the mission,” Patel said before thanking Mexican officials for their operational support.
The announcement from Patel comes just after the Mexican government <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ms13-gang-member-arrested-mexico-fbi-most-wanted-2046174">announced</a> his arrest in Veracruz on Monday.
The FBI previously noted that Roman-Bardales should be considered “armed and dangerous” and “has been charged with several offenses for his alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians and rival gang members, as well as his alleged role in drug distribution and extortion schemes in the United States and El Salvador.
Roman-Bardales was <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/kash-patel-reveals-major-ms-13-arrest-mexico-2046507">hit</a> with a federal arrest warrant by the Eastern District in New York in 2022 and stands accused of conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists; narco-terrorism conspiracy; racketeering conspiracy; and alien smuggling conspiracy.
Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, was <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/">designated</a> a foreign terror organization last month by the Trump administration.
“MS-13 actively recruits, organizes, and spreads violence in several countries, primarily in Central America and North America, including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States,” the State Department noted. “MS-13 has conducted numerous violent attacks, including assassination and the use of IEDs and drones, against El Salvador government officials and facilities.”
The Trump administration said, “MS-13 uses public displays of violence to intimidate civilian populations to obtain and control territory and manipulate the electoral process in El Salvador.”

Kash Patel

FBI Extradites Top MS-13 Leader From Mexico To Face ‘American Justice’

cartel

kash patel

MS-13 Gang

World

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett argued on Sunday that the administration&#8217;s tariffs against Mexico, Canada, and China were not about a trade war, but a drug war.
Hassett made the remarks during a Sunday interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; when asked what was driving President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision-making on the matter.
&#8220;What happened was that we launched a drug war, not a trade war, and it was part of a negotiation to get Canada and Mexico to stop shipping fentanyl across our borders,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And as we&#8217;ve watched them make progress on the drug war, then we&#8217;ve relaxed some of the tariffs that we put on them because they&#8217;re making progress. And so, that drug war is something that&#8217;s been going on since really the beginning of the Trump administration.&#8221;
He said that the administration was going to release a study in April highlighting the harm done to the American economy by foreign nations that have placed tariffs on products from the United States.
&#8220;Between now and then, we&#8217;ve got the drug war which we&#8217;re hopefully going to solve by the end of the month,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Hopefully, that we&#8217;ll actually round up, you know, the people in the cartels and stop the flow of fentanyl that&#8217;s killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, and then we&#8217;ll be focused on the reciprocal thing.&#8221;
&#8220;And now on the reciprocal thing, remember that just about every country on Earth charges a much higher tariff than we do,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And so, when we pass an act that says that we&#8217;re going to have the same tariff they charge us, then you&#8217;re covering it as if the only possible outcome is that our tariffs go up. But maybe they decide to go down, right?&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“We launched a drug war, not a trade war — and it was part of a negotiation to get Canada and Mexico to stop shipping fentanyl across our borders,&#8221; Pres. Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett says of the administration’s tariffs. <a href="https://t.co/vbFR5Md1S9">https://t.co/vbFR5Md1S9</a> <a href="https://t.co/C2qC94yDx2">pic.twitter.com/C2qC94yDx2</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1898733502754881536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2025</a></blockquote>

Key Speakers At Conservative Political Action Conference

White House Official: U.S. Imposing Tariffs As Part Of ‘Drug War,’ Not ‘Trade War’

Economy

President Donald Trump declared that it is time for America to “wage war on the cartels” during his historic speech in front of Congress.
The 47th president detailed his administration’s border security actions and its posture toward the Mexican drug cartels, which Trump designated as foreign terror organizations on his first day in office.
“The cartels are waging war on America and it is time for America to wage war on the cartels,” Trump said during his speech to Congress. “Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations. They are now officially in the same category as ISIS.”
“Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the U.S. by the Biden administration,” he went on to add. “But now every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country.”
The surge of criminal illegal aliens resulted in the loss of American life, Trump noted during his speech. “All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murders were members of the Venezuelan prison gang … Tren de Aragua,” the president said, referencing the deaths of Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Riley at the hands of illegal aliens.
Since entering office less than two months ago, the Trump administration has already secured the capture of key cartel leaders. Trump explained that Mexican authorities handed over 29 cartel leaders to the United States in an unprecedented move prompted by the president’s threat of tariffs against America’s neighbor to the south.
Trump’s comments came just after Border Czar Tom Homan joined The Daily Wire and explained that the administration will use the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-homan-tells-daily-wire-trump-will-use-full-might-of-government-to-crush-cartels?topStoryPosition=undefined">full might</a>” of the federal government to crush the cartels.
“We’re not just going to attack them on the southern border, we’re going to attack them across the globe,” Homan told The Daily Wire Backstage Live ahead of Trump’s Tuesday night address to Congress. “We’re going to use the full might of the federal government to take them out.”
One of the first and most important ways to cripple the cartels, Homan explained, is to cut off their funding by securing the southern border and preventing them from smuggling drugs and people into the United States. “If they don’t have money, they don’t have power,” Homan explained. “We’re going to shut them down one piece at a time.”

Trump

Trump: It Is Time For America To ‘Wage War On The Cartels’

Trump Administration

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