The United States is not talking about regime change in Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Friday, as the United States ordered an additional 10 stealth fighter jets to a military buildup in the Caribbean.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not talking about that, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election which was a very strange election, to put it mildly,&#8221; Trump said, referring to the contested 2024 election the Venezuelan government says President Nicolas Maduro won.
Trump had been asked by reporters about a claim Maduro has made this week that the United States was seeking &#8220;regime change through military threat.&#8221;
&#8220;The government of the United States should abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence,&#8221; Maduro said on state television.
&#8220;I respect Trump. None of the differences we&#8217;ve had can lead to a military conflict,&#8221; Maduro added. &#8220;Venezuela has always been willing to converse, to dialogue.&#8221;
Trump demonstrated his new approach to fighting the drug war with a U.S. military strike on Tuesday that killed 11 people and sank a boat from Venezuela which Trump said was transporting illegal narcotics.
The U.S. president is weighing options for further strikes, including potentially attacking suspected drug cartel targets inside Venezuela, CNN reported on Friday, citing multiple sources briefed on the administration&#8217;s plans. Such a strike would mark a major escalation.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the report.
The Trump administration has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to conduct operations against drug cartels, sources told Reuters on Friday.
The new deployment comes on top of an already bristling U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean as Trump carries out a campaign pledge to crack down on groups funneling drugs into the United States.
The disclosure about the F-35s came just hours after the Pentagon accused Venezuela of a &#8220;highly provocative&#8221; flight on Thursday by fighter jets near a U.S. Navy warship.
Trump warned Venezuela that the U.S. military had authorization to shoot down the jets if commanders believed they needed to, saying: &#8220;If they do put us in a dangerous position, they&#8217;ll be shot down.&#8221;
At every turn, the Trump administration has sought to tie Maduro&#8217;s government to narco trafficking, allegations Caracas denies.
Specifically, Trump has accused Maduro of running the Tren de Aragua gang, which his administration designated a terrorist organization in February. Maduro has denied any connection to Tren de Aragua, which his government says was rendered inactive in Venezuela by a prison raid in 2023.
Trump on Friday compared the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in overdoses to war dead, as he sought to justify the muscular military activity in the Caribbean.
&#8220;Think if you&#8217;re in a war and you lose 300,000 &#8230; We&#8217;re not going to allow it to happen,&#8221; he said.
Venezuela&#8217;s Communications Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the F-35s or the allegations that Venezuelan fighter jets flew over a U.S. warship.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity about the latest U.S. deployment, said the 10 fighter jets are being sent to conduct operations against designated narco-terrorist organizations operating in the southern Caribbean. The planes should arrive in the area by late next week, they said.
F-35s are highly advanced stealth fighters and would be effective in combat against Venezuela&#8217;s air force, which includes F-16 aircraft.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two Venezuelan F-16s flew over the guided missile destroyer Jason Dunham on Thursday. The Dunham is one of at least seven U.S. warships deployed to the Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines.
U.S. Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have also been carrying out amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
The buildup has put pressure on Maduro, whom U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called &#8220;effectively a kingpin of a drug narco state.&#8221;
Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. military had identified the crew of the vessel as Tren de Aragua members.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Phil Stewart; Editing by Scott Malone, Edwina Gibbs, Mark Porter, Alistair Bell and William Mallard)

Donald Trump

Trump Downplays Possible Regime Change In Venezuela; U.S. Deploys Stealth Fighter Jets

Drug Cartels

Global Politics

Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela

World

Vice President JD Vance on Saturday bluntly defended the Trump administration&#8217;s recent targeted U.S. Military strike of Tren de Aragua cartel drug smugglers.
&#8220;Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,&#8221; Vance posted to X.
Far-Left social media activist Brian Krassenstein replied to Vance, &#8220;Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t give a s*** what you call it,&#8221; the VP bluntly responded. The response, only posted hours ago, already has over 1.3 million views.
<div id="attachment_969361" style="width: 895px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969361" class="wp-image-969361 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-885x576.png" alt="" width="885" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-885x576.png 885w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-300x195.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM-768x500.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-06-at-1.29.38-PM.png 1164w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px" />Screenshot: X</div>
Vance later doubled-down, mockingly posting, &#8220;Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia. Republicans: actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
Democrats: let’s send your kids to die in Russia.
Republicans: actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1964341366298660905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
This is certainly not the first time Vance has been blunt in his response to Left-wing defenses of apparent criminals. Vance notably went viral back in January when CBS anchor Margaret Brennan tried to argue about when exactly an Afghan national who was plotting a terror attack in the U.S. was radicalized. “I don’t really care, Margaret,” Vance memorably interrupted her argument.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
“I don&#8217;t really care, Margaret.“
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
<a href="https://t.co/qpAKCxDalh">pic.twitter.com/qpAKCxDalh</a>
— Ginny Robinson (@ImGinnyRobinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImGinnyRobinson/status/1883627417744625731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of Americans have suffered synthetic opioid-related deaths. During the open-border Biden era, tens of thousands of pounds of fentanyl were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). It&#8217;s unclear how much fentanyl made it into the U.S. illegally. Trump&#8217;s administration has not only closed the border and started deporting illegals, but they are being proactive with cartel members.
This past week, as referenced by Vance, Trump posted a video of the military strike against Tren de Aragua members in the Caribbean Sea. As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">The Daily Wire</a>, the strike took place in international waters and killed nearly a dozen terrorist cartel members carrying illicit drugs, according to Trump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Drone+Strikes+Cartel+Drug+Boat%2C+Trump+Posts+Video+For+World+To+See%3A+%E2%80%98BEWARE%21%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strikes</a> against drug cartels are only getting started, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said on Wednesday that the Trump administration would no longer rely on stopping drug runners when they arrive on U.S. soil, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blow-them-up-rubio-says-trump-will-direct-more-strikes-against-narco-terrorists">The Daily Wire</a> reported. Instead, the United States will take out cartel members before they reach the country to spread their “poison.”
“Interdiction doesn’t work because these drug cartels — what they do is they know they’re going to lose 2% of their cargo. They bake it into their economics,” Rubio said. “What will stop them is when you blow them up. You get rid of them.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">U.S. Drone Strikes Cartel Drug Boat, Trump Posts Video For World To See: ‘BEWARE!’</a>

US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-VANCE-WALZ

‘I Don’t Give A S***’: Vance Goes Viral With Defense Of Cartel Strike

Fentanyl

Illegal Immigration

JD Vance

Marco Rubio

Politics

Tren De Aragua

President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Drone+Strikes+Cartel+Drug+Boat%2C+Trump+Posts+Video+For+World+To+See%3A+%E2%80%98BEWARE%21%E2%80%99">strikes</a> against drug cartels are only getting started, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said on Wednesday that the Trump administration would no longer rely on stopping drug runners when they arrive on U.S. soil. Instead, the United States will take out cartel members before they reach the country to spread their &#8220;poison.&#8221;
&#8220;Interdiction doesn&#8217;t work because these drug cartels — what they do is they know they&#8217;re going to lose 2% of their cargo. They bake it into their economics,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;What will stop them is when you blow them up. You get rid of them.&#8221;
Rubio made the comments while speaking at a press conference in Mexico as he met with leaders to <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1963007877628756258">discuss</a> &#8220;strengthening cooperation on illegal immigration and countering transnational crime and terrorism in our region.&#8221;
The Secretary of State added that before the United States launched a strike on drug smugglers with the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, U.S. intelligence determined that the drug boat was on its way to the United States.
&#8220;Instead of interdicting it, on the president&#8217;s orders, we blew it up, and it will happen again. Maybe it&#8217;s happening right now, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;But the point is, the president of the United States is going to wage war on narco terrorist organizations. This one was operating in international waters, heading toward the United States to flood our country with poison. And under President Trump, those days are over.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING:
Rubio says interdiction drug cartel boats isn’t enough. What works is to blow them up.
He says the U.S. is now waging war on narco-terrorist organizations and will blow up more such boats 🇺🇸🇻🇪 <a href="https://t.co/Zl4KHfTe18">pic.twitter.com/Zl4KHfTe18</a>
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1963316016630698391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump announced on Tuesday that the &#8220;U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.&#8221; The president also posted a video of the strike, which he said resulted in the deaths of 11 drug smugglers while no U.S. service members were harmed.
&#8220;Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!&#8221; Trump added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last month, Trump ordered U.S. forces to be deployed to the Southern Caribbean Sea — near Venezuela — to take on the drug cartel. Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maduro-accuses-u-s-of-seeking-a-regime-change-after-trump-deploys-military-to-south-caribbean">accused</a> the United States of &#8220;seeking a regime change&#8221; with its latest military movements. Maduro added that Trump&#8217;s decision marked “the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”
Maduro, a socialist who remained in power in an election that appeared to be rigged in his favor, has a $50 million bounty placed on him by the U.S. government, citing his ties to drug cartels.

Secretary Marco Rubio

‘Blow Them Up’: Rubio Says Trump Will Direct More Strikes Against Narco Terrorists

Trump Administration

The U.S. military destroys a drug boat from Venezuela as a federal judge tries to block President Trump from using the National Guard for law enforcement in Los Angeles. A massive populist backlash against mass migration is fueling a historic political shift to the Right across Europe. The FDA restricts access to COVID vaccines for healthy Americans as President Trump demands Big Pharma release its data and questions his own Operation Warp Speed.
It’s Wednesday, September 3, 2025, 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="Marines Sink Narcos &amp; Europe’s Rising Right" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cA9OMlMGwbc?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:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marines-sink-narcos-europes-rising-right-9-3-25/id1576594336?i=1000724708177" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>U.S. Military Sinks Drug Boat, Judge Blocks Trump in L.A.</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-968047" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The U.S. military destroyed a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela on Tuesday, the most dramatic move yet in the Trump administration&#8217;s war on cartels, as a federal judge in California ruled against the president&#8217;s use of the National Guard for domestic law enforcement. 
As part of an &#8220;enhanced counter narcotics operation,&#8221; the U.S. military has deployed at least eight warships to the Caribbean. &#8220;We just, over the last few minutes, shot out a drug-carrying boat,&#8221; President Trump announced Tuesday. &#8220;These came out of Venezuela.&#8221; The action follows the president&#8217;s designation of several large drug cartels as terror organizations, allowing for a more aggressive military approach. 
Meanwhile, a district judge in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles to protect federal property and aid immigration enforcement was illegal. The judge, Charles Breyer, barred guardsmen from engaging in law enforcement activities. The Trump administration will appeal the ruling, which has been put on hold for ten days. A federal appeals court previously reversed a similar ruling from Breyer in June. 
In other administration news, the Pentagon will send up to 600 of its lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges, a move intended to clear a 3-million-person backlog and speed up deportations. President Trump also announced that the U.S. Space Command Headquarters will be relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, a move the White House says will save nearly half a billion dollars.
&nbsp;
<h2>Europe Sees Historic Shift to the Right Amid Migrant Backlash</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-968045" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: For the first time in modern history, right-wing populist parties are leading the polls in Europe&#8217;s three largest economies — France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — driven by a massive public backlash against mass migration. 
&#8220;Immigration is the number one factor driving all of these movements,&#8221; Alvino-Mario Fantini, editor-in-chief of the European Conservative, told Morning Wire. Since 2015, an estimated 25 to 30 million immigrants, primarily from Muslim countries, have entered Europe, leading to a culture clash and widespread anger over the high costs of housing and welfare for migrants. 
As a result, nationalist parties like Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, France’s National Rally, and Germany’s Alternative for Germany are now topping the polls in their respective countries. 
The establishment parties have responded with what many conservative analysts call &#8220;lawfare,&#8221; similar to tactics used against the MAGA movement in the U.S. In France, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of misusing E.U. funds and banned from running for office for five years. In Germany, the country’s intelligence agency has classified the Alternative for Germany party as an “extremist” group, which could be used to ban its members from public office.
&nbsp;
<h2>FDA Restricts COVID Vax as Trump Questions Warp Speed</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-968043" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.3.25-Wed-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The FDA has removed the emergency use authorization for COVID vaccines, restricting their availability for healthy Americans, as President Trump is now publicly questioning his own Operation Warp Speed and demanding that pharmaceutical companies release their data on the shots. 
The FDA has removed the &#8220;emergency use authorization&#8221; that allowed widespread access to COVID vaccines during the pandemic. While high-risk individuals can still get the vaccine, healthy people will now need a recommendation from a physician. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency doesn&#8217;t &#8220;have data [on] healthy Americans, so we’re not recommending it for healthy Americans,&#8221; adding that the change makes future vaccine mandates &#8220;legally impossible.&#8221; 
The move comes as President Trump has taken a more critical tone on the vaccines. In a post on Truth Social, he demanded that companies like Pfizer &#8220;justify&#8221; the success of the drugs and release their data to the public. In a notable shift, he also questioned his own signature program, writing, “I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” 
The policy changes follow a major shakeup at the CDC, where HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently fired the director, prompting several other top officials to resign and nine former directors to write an op-ed condemning Kennedy. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya responded by noting that the former directors criticizing Kennedy were the same ones who &#8220;embraced politicized school closures and covid vaccine mandates.”

MRN 9.03.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: US Military Strikes Drug Boat, Rise Of European Populism & COVID Vax Pullback

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Europe

France

Germany

Operation Warp Speed

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

U.K.

President Donald Trump posted a video on Tuesday of a United States military strike against Tren de Aragua drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea.
The strike took place in international waters and killed nearly a dozen terrorist cartel members carrying illicit drugs, Trump said. A video of the strike showed a small boat motoring through water before bursting into flame.
“Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere,” he added. “The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.”
“The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” Trump concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/vEVGYVgLAg">pic.twitter.com/vEVGYVgLAg</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962990388211228951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
The president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-deploys-forces-to-take-on-latin-american-drug-cartels-in-the-southern-caribbean">ordered</a> U.S. military assets to the south Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela last month to counter drug cartels, which his administration has classified as foreign terrorist organizations. The president has ratcheted up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who the United States has targeted as a top cartel official.
In August, the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">doubled</a> its bounty on information leading to Maduro’s arrest from $25 million to $50 million.
“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“The DOJ has seized over $700 million of Maduro-linked assets, including two private jets, nine vehicles, and more,” she added. “Yet, Maduro’s reign of terror continues. He is one of the largest narco traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”

U.S. Drone Strikes Cartel Drug Boat, Trump Posts Video For World To See: ‘BEWARE!’

Crime

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that American forces had taken out a “drug-carrying boat” coming out of Venezuela.
Trump made the comments during a press conference from the White House announcing that Space Command will be moving its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. He said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff had briefed him just before the press conference.
“When you come out and when you leave the room, you’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes literally, shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat. And you’ll be seeing that, and you’ll be reading about that,” Trump said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: We just, over the last few minutes, shot out a drug-carrying boat&#8230; and there&#8217;s more where that came from&#8230; These came out of Venezuela. <a href="https://t.co/JlurCZWBpG">pic.twitter.com/JlurCZWBpG</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962955342523879613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“It just happened moments ago and our great general, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been so incredible, including what took place in Iran knocking out potential nuclear power for a long time to come … he gave us a little bit of a briefing. And you’ll see. There&#8217;s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country. Coming in for a long time,” he added.
He said that the boat came out of Venezuela. “We took it out and you’ll get to see that after this meeting is over,” Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the strike in a post on X.
“As [Trump] just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization,” Rubio posted on X.
The strike comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maduro-accuses-u-s-of-seeking-a-regime-change-after-trump-deploys-military-to-south-caribbean">tensions have been rising</a> between Trump and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Last month, Trump directed the Pentagon to deploy U.S. troops and warships to address “threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region,” according to Reuters.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro and his government of taking part in massive drug trafficking operations that smuggle narcotics into the United States. The government recently increased the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, citing his alleged ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.

President Trump Makes Announcement In The Oval Office Of The White House

Trump Says Military Took Out Venezuelan Boat Carrying ‘A Lot Of Drugs’

U.S. Military

BROOKLYN, NY — Surrounded by law enforcement personnel, Attorney General Pam Bondi sternly told the world that a notorious drug lord who had finally pleaded guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges would die in prison.
“This guy, ‘El Mayo,’ was living like a king,” Bondi said of Ismael &#8220;El Mayo&#8221; Zambada, the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, as cameras flashed around her. ”Now he’s living like a criminal for the rest of his life.”
&#8220;Thanks to the relentless work of our prosecutors and our federal agents, El Mayo will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He will die in a U.S. federal prison where he belongs,&#8221; Bondi told reporters. &#8220;His guilty plea brings us one step closer to achieving our goal of the elimination of the drug cartels and the transnational criminal organizations throughout this world that are flooding our country with drugs and human traffickers and homicides.&#8221;
Her rhetoric and demeanor clearly spelled out the message that President Donald Trump&#8217;s Justice Department intends to send to those involved in the violent drug trade hurting so many Americans: they should be afraid, and any one of them might be next.
<div id="attachment_965195" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-cartel-kingpin-will-die-in-a-u-s-federal-prison-where-he-belongs/attorney-general-pam-bondi-announces-sinaloa-cartel-co-founder-ismael-el-mayo-zambada-garcia-guilty-plea-2" rel="attachment wp-att-965195"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-965195" class="wp-image-965195 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068243.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office on August 25, 2025, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)</div>
The attorney general had traveled to Brooklyn straight from a two-hour Oval Office meeting with the president to make the announcement at the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The trip made clear that stopping the threat of drug cartels remains a top priority for the Trump administration.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Zambada, for example, pleaded guilty on Monday to being one of the top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, described by the Justice Department as &#8220;one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.&#8221; He made billions of dollars importing dangerous drugs into the United States. The DOJ said he &#8220;operated with impunity at the highest levels of the Mexican drug trafficking world while being assured of his continued success and safety from arrest through his payment of bribes to Mexican government officials and law enforcement officers.&#8221; &#8220;El Mayo&#8221; controlled those corrupt officials, who in turn protected his cartel members and the shipments of his drugs smuggled into America.
&#8220;Numerous witnesses have testified, including at the trials of El Chapo and corrupt former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna, that corruption at all levels was necessary to allow the Zambada Garcia’s criminal enterprise to function so effectively at such a large scale: from local police officers who escorted the drugs through Mexico, to corrupt officials who informed the Cartel of military actions, thwarted capture operations, and consulted with the Cartel about proceedings and investigations against it,&#8221; the DOJ release notes.
&#8220;El Mayo’s crimes have been so prolific that in the past two decades, he&#8217;s been indicted in no fewer than 16 federal courts across our country, 16 from the Western District of Texas to Chicago to here in the Eastern District of New York. He escaped justice for decades,&#8221; the attorney general noted. &#8220;But under President Trump&#8217;s leadership, he has finally been brought to justice.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_965225" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-cartel-kingpin-will-die-in-a-u-s-federal-prison-where-he-belongs/attorney-general-pam-bondi-announces-sinaloa-cartel-co-founder-ismael-el-mayo-zambada-garcia-guilty-plea-3" rel="attachment wp-att-965225"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-965225" class="wp-image-965225 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2232068319.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Members of the NYPD listen as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office on August 25, 2025, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)</div>
In a statement on Tuesday, family members of U.S. citizens <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-judge-orders-mexican-cartel-pay-billions-for-killings-nine-women-children/">killed by the Juárez Cartel</a> in 2019 thanked Bondi and Trump for going after the cartels.
&#8220;We are deeply grateful to President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and the entire Trump administration for their commitment to holding cartels accountable,” said Adriana Jones, the president of &#8220;American Families Against Cartel Terrorism.&#8221; Jones is the sister of Maria &#8220;Rhonita&#8221; Le Baron and the aunt of Howard Miller Jr., Krystal Miller, and Titus and Tiana Miller — all of whom were killed in the 2019 massacre. “The Sinaloa Cartel and Juárez Cartel both represent a clear and present danger, and their actions have caused immense loss, pain, and suffering. Thanks to the efforts of this administration, our nation is safer.&#8221;

Attorney General Pam Bondi Announces Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia Guilty Plea

Bondi’s Promise: Cartel Bosses Will ‘Will Die In A U.S. Federal Prison’ Where They Belong

New York

Pam Bondi

Sinaloa Cartel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Three U.S. Aegis guided-missile destroyers will arrive off the coast of Venezuela in the next 36 hours as part of an effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels, two sources briefed on the matter said on Monday.
President Donald Trump has wanted to use the military to go after Latin American drug gangs that have been designated as global terrorist organizations.
The sources said the ships are the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and the USS Sampson.
A separate U.S. official told Reuters that in total, about 4,000 sailors and Marines are expected to be committed to the Trump administration&#8217;s efforts in the southern Caribbean region.
That U.S. official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the additional commitment of military assets in the broader region would include several P-8 spy planes, warships, and at least one attack submarine.
The official said the process would be ongoing for several months and the plan was for them to operate in international airspace and international waters.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
The naval assets can be used to not just carry out intelligence and surveillance operations, but also as a launching pad for targeted strikes if a decision is made, the official added.
Venezuela&#8217;s communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Without referring to the warships, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday in an address that Venezuela will &#8220;defend our seas, our skies and our lands.&#8221; He alluded to what he called &#8220;the outlandish, bizarre threat of a declining empire.&#8221;
Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration as part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border.
The Trump administration in recent months has already deployed at least two warships to help in border security efforts and drug trafficking.
The Trump administration designated Mexico&#8217;s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, as well as Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organizations in February, as it stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.
The U.S. military has already been increasing its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities.
(Reporting By Steve Holland and Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Vivian Sequera and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Chris Reese and Christian Schmollinger)

U.S. Navy Warship

U.S. Deploys Warships Near Venezuela To Combat Drug Threats, Sources Say

U.S. Navy

Margarito “Jay” Flores Jr., a former Chicago kingpin who was the Sinaloa Cartel&#8217;s largest distributor in the United States under the notorious El Chapo, said he believes President Trump is doing a “great job” going after the Mexican drug cartels.
Flores Jr., whose face was blurred in the video for his own safety after <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/07/03/chapo-margarito-flores-pedro-flores-saul-rodriguez-sinaloa-cartel">cooperating with U.S. authorities</a> to help take down El Chapo, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TxI3qZxBTk">spoke</a> on &#8220;Borderland: Narcosis with Vincent &#8216;Rocco&#8217; Vargas.&#8221;
“I believe that the Trump administration is doing a great job. &#8230; it’s kind of winding down a little bit in the media, but I believe that government that’s still at full force going after these drug cartels,” Flores Jr. stated. “I don’t believe that the Chapo faction or the Mayo Zambada faction (of the Sinaloa Cartel) will last another year. &#8230; Especially with some of the recent arrests,” Flores Jr. stated.
Ismael Mayo Zambada was one of the co-founders of the Sinaloa Cartel, which has an estimated 5000-20,000 members across the world. The faction in his name is opposed by the faction known as Los Chapitos, which is led by the sons of El Chapo. When El Chapo ran the cartel, they ran a sophisticated smuggling operation using narco-submarines, airplanes, and drones, which are likely still being utilized.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent">End of Summer Sale &#8211; Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
“To the American public, some of these arrests that are happening might not be significant because they don’t have a name,” Flores Jr. theorized. “All these arrests are meaning something, and I do believe that it’s the pressure the United States has, making a difference and it’s going to continue making a difference.”
Earlier this month, President Trump issued a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-greenlights-military-force-to-take-down-latin-american-drug-cartels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directive</a> for the Pentagon to use the military for operations against Latin American drug cartels, as Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-military-deploying-forces-southern-caribbean-against-drug-groups-2025-08-14/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported.</a>
Sources briefed on the move told Reuters that after Trump’s order, the Defense Department has begun deploying U.S. troops to address “threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.” Last week, Trump quietly signed an order to deploy U.S. troops to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/us/trump-military-drug-cartels.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times.
“I could imagine that even today right now you have politicians calling the government saying, ‘Hey, is there a deal there for me?’” Flores Jr. quipped.
“I believe it’s also gonna happen with CJNG [Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, another major drug cartel]. It’s just gonna take a little more time,” he said. “I believe that if the government continues to put this kind of pressure on CJNG, I don’t see it lasting two years.”
“I believe that the Trump administration continues that, by the time the president’s term is over, the landscape of Mexico and the drug cartels is going to look very, very different,” he surmised. “The United States is targeting, they’re making so much (sic) arrests, think about everything that’s happened in the last year: More has happened in the last year than I believe in the last 25 years in terms of United States prosecutions and arrests.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Margarito “Jay” Flores Jr., who was El Chapo’s largest distributor for the Sinaloa Cartel in the U.S., says that President Trump is doing a “great job” going after the cartels:
“More has happened in the last year than in the last 25 years in terms of prosecutions and arrests”… <a href="https://t.co/mC2POoaNsK">pic.twitter.com/mC2POoaNsK</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1957114922220892207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

U.S. President Trump And Russian  President Putin Meet On War In Ukraine At U.S. Air Base In Alaska

Former Chicago Kingpin: Trump Doing ‘Great Job’ Targeting Mexican Drug Cartels

Former Major Drug Cartel Figure: Trump Doing 'Great Job' Targeting Cartels

U.S. air and naval forces are set to deploy to the Southern Caribbean Sea following President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-greenlights-military-force-to-take-down-latin-american-drug-cartels">directive</a> for the Pentagon to use the military for operations against Latin American drug cartels, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-military-deploying-forces-southern-caribbean-against-drug-groups-2025-08-14/">reported</a> on Thursday.
Sources briefed on the move told Reuters that after Trump&#8217;s order, the Defense Department has begun deploying U.S. troops to address &#8220;threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.&#8221; Last week, Trump quietly signed an order to deploy U.S. troops to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/us/trump-military-drug-cartels.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld">according</a> to The New York Times.
It remains unknown which specific cartels the president is targeting in his directive. After Trump was sworn into office, the United States designated seven drug cartels and two international criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. Most of those cartels primarily operate in Mexico, but the reported deployment of troops to the South Caribbean Sea suggests that the operation will focus more on Central and South America.
Venezuela, whose northern coastline sits on the South Caribbean Sea, has been a recent subject of the Trump administration&#8217;s scrutiny. Shortly after the president took office, the State Department designated the Venezuelan international criminal gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), as a foreign terrorist organization, and most recently added the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles to its terrorist organization list.
Trump has also ramped up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">raising</a> the bounty on him to $50 million and pointing to his ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels. Attorney General Pam Bondi also accused Maduro of using the powerful Mexican drug cartel, Sinaloa, &#8220;to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country.&#8221;
&#8220;To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,” Bondi said earlier this month.
After Trump greenlit military operations against drug cartels, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mexican-president-says-u-s-military-will-not-fight-drug-cartels-on-its-soil">said</a> that U.S. troops would not be entering her country to fight cartels. Sheinbaum said last week that U.S. officials gave her a heads-up that Trump&#8217;s directive &#8220;was coming,&#8221; adding that an American troop deployment to Mexico was &#8220;absolutely ruled out.&#8221;
&#8220;It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no,&#8221; Sheinbaum said.
Trump has already been using the military along the U.S.-Mexico border to help clamp down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The U.S. military has also increased its aerial surveillance of Mexican drug cartels, collecting intelligence on the traffickers responsible for shipping deadly drugs, such as fentanyl, into the United States.

U.S. Navy Helicopter

U.S. Deploys Forces To Take On Latin American Drug Cartels In The Southern Caribbean

U.S. Deploys Forces To Southern Caribbean To Take On Latin American Drug Cartels

Mexico

U.S. Air Force

A class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, made in secret Chinese laboratories and 43 times more deadly than fentanyl, is now killing young Americans, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
After two young Texas men died this year from ingesting pills laced with nitazenes, their mothers have launched a campaign to get the U.S. government to focus more on the problem.
“Lucci Reyes-McCallister, 22, died January 26 near Houston, Texas, after taking a pill labeled as Xanax that was actually laced with N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene, an emerging form of nitazene. &#8230; Hunter Clement, 21. died on April 10 after taking a nitazene-laced pill branded to look like a Percocet,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/11/us-news/little-known-synthetic-opioid-nitazene-is-up-to-43-times-more-deadly-than-fentanyl-resistant-to-narcan-and-killing-young-americans/">reported</a>.
“Sometimes I get mad because I couldn’t save my own son, but I do want to save other people, even if it’s just one person in honor of him,” Hunter Clement’s mother, Ruthi, told The Post.
Former acting DEA administrator Derek Maltz said the deaths were part of China’s “ongoing attack against America &#8230; As America is just now really starting to talk about fentanyl, we have now seen all these other substances that are popping up everywhere, and they’re coming out of these labs in China.”
In 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/NDTA_2024.pdf">reported</a> on the “dangerous shift from plant-based drugs to synthetic drugs,” adding:
This shift has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced. These synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, are responsible for nearly all of the fatal drug poisonings in our nation.
“The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels are at the heart of this crisis,” continued. “These two Cartels are global criminal enterprises that have developed global supply chain networks. They rely on chemical companies and pill press companies in China to supply the precursor chemicals and pill presses needed to manufacture the drugs. They operate clandestine labs in Mexico where they manufacture these drugs, and then utilize their vast distribution networks to transport the drugs into the United States.”
“Nitazenes are sold by China-based chemical suppliers through online marketplaces, the Mexican cartels could easily use their existing relationships with those suppliers to obtain nitazenes,” the report stated.
Nitazene analogues were connected to at least five deaths in Philadelphia, “and a dozen more deaths may be attributed to the deadly drugs,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/drug-40-times-stronger-than-fentanyl-plagues-philadelphia">reported</a> in April 2024. “The health department suspects that a nitazene analogue known as N-desethyl isotonitazene was present in 12 overdose deaths in Philadelphia between November and December 2022,” the Philadelphia Inquirer <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/nitazenes-philadelphia-drug-overdoses-opioids-20240409.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/nitazenes-philadelphia-drug-overdoses-opioids-20240409.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712761220662000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0RLaCGzkDdLL2Bhk8u9NaE">reported</a>. Two other nitazene analogues were identified in an overdose victim who died in June 2023.”
Although the drug naloxone can be used to reverse the effects of fentanyl,  the normal dose of naloxone may not be enough to combat the effects of nitazenes.
“Customs <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/buyer-beware-bad-actors-exploit-de-minimis-shipments">officers at JFK are seeing the drug</a> coming through the airport ‘at least a few times a week in quantities ranging from just a few grams to upwards of a pound or more,’ Andrew Renna, Assistant Port Director for Cargo Operations at the airport, said in May,” The Post noted.

Alex Krotulski, 32, associate director and forensic toxicologis

Chinese-Made Opioid Deadlier Than Fentanyl Now Killing Young Americans

Mothers Whose Sons Died From Opioid Far More Lethal Than Fentanyl Alerting Others Of Lurking Menace

China

Nitazenes

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded on Friday after a report from The New York Times stated that President Donald Trump had quietly signed an order to use military force against drug cartels in foreign countries.
Sheinbaum, who previously rejected an offer from Trump for the U.S. military to help fight the drug cartels, said on Friday, “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military.&#8221; The Mexican president added that U.S. officials had given her a heads-up that Trump&#8217;s directive &#8220;was coming,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/world/americas/mexico-trump-military-cartels.html">The New York Times</a>.
&#8220;We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out,” she said. “It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no.”
Sheinbaum said that she was assured by the United States that Trump&#8217;s order would not include sending troops into Mexico. The directive reportedly singles out Latin American drug cartels that are designated as foreign terrorist organizations, but it was not immediately clear which specific cartels or transnational gangs the Trump administration would pursue under the new directive.
Mexico has been overrun by numerous violent drug cartels for decades, and most of the drug cartels listed by the United States as terrorist organizations primarily operate in Mexico. Two transnational criminal gangs, Tren de Aragua (TdA) and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations, have cells in Central America, according to the State Department. The Trump administration also recently designated the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization.
After pressure from Trump earlier this year, Sheibaum reportedly deployed hundreds of troops to fight the Sinaloa Cartel — one of Mexico&#8217;s most powerful — with the group suffering significant losses. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson <a href="https://x.com/USAmbMex/status/1951085207123272145">said</a> last month that U.S. fentanyl seizures were down and Mexico fentanyl seizures were on the rise &#8220;thanks to increased collaboration&#8221; between the two countries.
&#8220;Under [President Trump&#8217;s] and President [Sheinbaum&#8217;s] leadership, cartels are going bankrupt and our countries are safer because of it,&#8221; Johnson added.
Trump has used tariffs as a negotiating tool to pressure Mexico into helping the United States secure the border and crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The president has also deployed U.S. troops and drones to patrol the southern border. Trump&#8217;s actions have led to the <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/most-secure-border-history-cbp-reports-major-enforcement-wins-june#:~:text=Border%20Enforcement%20at%20Historic%20Levels,27%2C766%20released%20in%20June%202024">lowest level</a> of illegal border crossings ever recorded by Customs and Border Protection.

Claudia Sheinbaum

Mexican President Says U.S. Military Will Not Fight Drug Cartels On Its Soil

Military

Menu