Trump Threatens Military Campaign Against Cartels

President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to announce imminent land strikes on drug cartels in what would mark a further escalation of his campaign against alleged narco-terrorists across Latin America, following months of strikes against alleged drug boats at sea and just days after a U.S. military operation inside Venezuela that led to the arrest of its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

“We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels,” Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News on Thursday night. “The cartels are running Mexico—it’s very, very sad to watch, and see what’s happened to that country.”

Trump did not expound further, but his comments hint at an expansion of U.S. military operations, potentially even into Mexico. Since September, his Administration has killed at least 115 people in more than 30 strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, with officials justifying some of those attacks by claiming the vessels were transporting drugs to the U.S. and passengers were members of drug syndicates.