Drone strikes on Mexican drug cartels are being considered as the Trump administration weighs its next steps to fight criminal gangs operating with impunity across the southern border, according to a new report.
Military and intelligence officials are examining options that include acting without Mexico’s official consent, according to NBC.
The report noted that although the U.S. and Mexico have conducted joint operations, the scale envisioned by the Trump administration would dwarf past projects.
In February, the Trump administration increased Central Intelligence Agency drone surveillance of fentanyl production sites in Mexico, according to The New York Times.
This week, CNN reported that the administration is investigating how far the CIA can go to use lethal force against the cartels.
JUST IN: The CIA has been secretly deploying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico, tracking drug cartels as part of Trump’s plan to treat them like terrorist organizations – CNN pic.twitter.com/ikGrU6FVBv
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 18, 2025
The report also indicated the CIA is assessing what might happen if Americans are part of collateral damage from an American attack in Mexico.
There are also concerns about how cartels might respond.
Should the U.S. launch strikes against the cartels?
“Mexican cartels are not merely criminal organizations; they operate as paramilitary entities with deep financial resources, global supply chains, and sophisticated logistical networks that extend into the United States,” Doug Livermore, a specialist in irregular warfare and a former Defense Department official wrote on the website of the Atlantic Council.
“It is unlikely that such groups would passively absorb U.S. attacks,” he wrote.
“Instead, as history shows, cartels are highly likely to retaliate both preemptively and reactively. They possess a substantial capacity for terrorism that, when coupled with their established presence within the United States, could escalate conflict far beyond what proponents of a purely military solution may anticipate,” he wrote.
The NBC report said surveillance flights are designed to “build a target deck” and prepare options that include people and storage facilities.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said Mexico opposes drone strikes on its territory.
“We reject any form of intervention or interference. That’s been very clear, Mexico coordinates and collaborates, but does not subordinate itself. There is no interference, nor will there be,” she said, noting no formal proposal had been made.
“While this idea hasn’t been formally proposed, we’ve made it clear that it wouldn’t address the root of the issue. What truly works is ongoing attention to root causes, arrests driven by intelligence and investigation, coordination, and zero tolerance for impunity. We categorically reject any such actions, and we don’t believe they will happen. There is a strong, ongoing dialogue on security and many other matters,” she said.
Arturo Sarukhán, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2007 to 2013, said Mexico may not have the ability to resist because of its past inability to control the cartels.
“At the end of the day, it’s Mexico’s failings and mistakes that have put us in this position today,” he said.
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