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2025 United States military campaign against cartels

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2025 United States military campaign against cartels
Part of the war on drugs and United States–Venezuela relations

Footage of the United States strike on a Southern Caribbean boat, September 2025
DateAugust 8, 2025 – present
Location
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
United States Donald Trump
United States Pete Hegseth
United States Marco Rubio
United States John Ratcliffe
Venezuela Nicolás Maduro
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes
Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar
Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar
Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores "Niño Guerrero"
Casualties and losses
None ~11 killed

In August 2025, U.S. president Donald Trump directed the United States Armed Forces to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels.

The first operation of the campaign was the September 2 strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua vessel in the Southern Caribbean.

Background

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U.S. intervention in the war on drugs

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The United States has engaged in efforts to counter drug operations in Latin America. In 1989, president George H. W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to depose the country's de facto dictator, Manuel Noriega. The invasion was condemned by the United Nations General Assembly as a "flagrant violation of international law". The United States later provided intelligence about flights with civilians suspected to be carrying drugs to Columbian and Peruvian officials; after several planes were shot down, the Clinton administration ceased its assistance in providing information. Additionally, the United States Navy has intercepted ships believed to be used for drug smuggling operations. The United States Armed Forces broadly engage in joint anti-drug training exercises with other countries, including Colombia and Mexico.[1]

According to A Sacred Oath (2022), president Donald Trump proposed bombing drug labs in Mexico. As a presidential candidate for the 2024 election, Trump invoked the issue of military intervention in Mexico several times.[1] After Trump's victory, Mexican officials expressed concern that Trump would authorize strikes against drug cartels.[2] Ronald D. Johnson, Trump's nominee for ambassador to Mexico, did not rule out the possibility of military strikes on cartels in his confirmation hearing.[3] Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum publicly opposed the prospect of U.S. drone strikes on cartels in April.[4] In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump, speaking to Sheinbaum the previous month, proposed sending in U.S. soldiers to assist in the country's drug war, a suggestion she rejected.[5]

Legality of using military force

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According to The New York Times, Trump lacks the legal authority and precedent to kill suspected drug smugglers.[6]

Preliminary actions

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Donald Trump's decision to designate drug cartels as "terrorist" organizations—including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Cártel del Noreste, Tren de Aragua, MS-13, the Gulf Cartel, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana Organization[7]—established the foundation for U.S. intervention.[8] In August, Trump secretly signed an executive order directing the armed forces to invoke military action against cartels that had been declared as terrorist organizations.[1]

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), for its part, also joined the military campaign after confirming that it would play a significant role in combating drug cartels, just as it is considering using lethal force against these criminal organizations.[9]

Operations

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On August 20, 2025, Donald Trump ordered the United States Department of Defense to send three Navy warships to the coast of South America.[10] On September 2, Trump stated that the U.S. had executed a strike on a boat believed to be carrying drugs, killing eleven suspected gang members.[11] The following day, secretary of defense Pete Hegseth stated that military actions against cartels in Venezuela would continue. Secretary of state Marco Rubio, speaking in Mexico City, said that further strikes would occur, adding that the U.S. was aware of the identities of those on the destroyed boat, but did not provide evidence to authenticate their identity as Tren de Aragua members.[12]

On September 4, in response to the presence of Navy warships in Latin America, 2 Venezuelan BMA F-16 fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham.[13]

Responses

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Domestic

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In August 2025, over thirty organizations urged the United States Congress to oppose the war on cartels.[14]

International

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After the war on cartels began, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum publicly stated that there was "not going to be an invasion".[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Cooper et al. 2025.
  2. ^ de Córdoba 2024.
  3. ^ Lotz 2025.
  4. ^ McDonnell 2025.
  5. ^ de Córdoba & Pérez 2025.
  6. ^ Savage 2025.
  7. ^ Chutel 2025.
  8. ^ de Córdoba & Fisher 2025.
  9. ^ "Under Trump, CIA plots bigger role in drug cartel fight". The Washington Post. February 17, 2025.
  10. ^ Seligman & Forrest 2025.
  11. ^ Cooper et al. 2025.
  12. ^ Schmitt 2025.
  13. ^ LaPorta & D'Agata 2025.
  14. ^ Turse 2025.
  15. ^ Abi-Habib 2025.

Works cited

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