Trump wants to use US military in fight against Latin American drug cartels

(Patria) - US media have reported that President Donald Trump intends to direct the military to attack Latin American drug cartels, after Washington earlier this year designated several drug trafficking groups as "terrorist" organizations, AFP reported.

The New York Times reported that Trump ordered the Pentagon to begin using military force against cartels designated as terrorist organizations, while the Wall Street Journal stated that the president ordered the Department of Defense to prepare options for this.

The Journal stated that the use of special forces and providing intelligence support are among the options being considered, and that any action will be coordinated with foreign partners.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted after the reports that "there will be no invasion of Mexico."

Trump vowed in March to "wage war" against Mexican drug cartels, which he accused of rape and murder, and that they "pose a serious threat" to national security.

A month earlier, the United States designated Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, and six other drug trafficking groups with Latin American roots as
"global terrorist" organizations.

The Trump administration has since added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which over two decades has delivered hundreds of tons of narcotics to the United States.

On January 20, his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order establishing a process for such designations, saying the cartels "pose a threat to national security that exceeds that posed by traditional organized crime."