A growing debate is unfolding within Donald Trump’s inner circle over whether—and how far—the former president should go in fulfilling his campaign pledge to use military force against Mexican drug cartels. What was once seen as an extreme idea is now gaining serious attention among key figures likely to shape Trump’s potential second-term administration.
Senior advisers are reportedly evaluating a range of military strategies, including precision drone strikes on cartel facilities and targeted raids by U.S. special forces aimed at dismantling cartel leadership, according to a new report from Rolling Stone. This conversation underscores a significant shift in Republican thinking, framing cartel violence as a pressing national security issue rather than just a law enforcement challenge.
Key Trump allies, including potential Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, have all expressed varying degrees of support for military intervention. Rubio stresses the importance of working with the Mexican government, while Hegseth emphasizes the need for precise, limited military operations to disrupt cartel networks without getting drawn into prolonged conflict.
Trump himself has reportedly floated the idea of presenting the Mexican government with an ultimatum: drastically reduce fentanyl trafficking within months or face unilateral U.S. military action. Insiders describe potential plans for what they call a “soft invasion,” involving elite U.S. units carrying out targeted strikes and high-value assassinations of cartel leaders.
Congressional allies like Senator Lindsey Graham have also backed the push, introducing legislation to label Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, reported Newsweek. Such a classification would grant the president expanded legal authority to deploy military forces across the border. Meanwhile, Trump’s potential border czar, Tom Homan, has emphasized the administration’s readiness to dismantle cartel operations through force if diplomacy fails and his pick for ambassador to Mexico, Ron Johnson, a retired colonel with the same name as the senator from Wisconsin, has been viewed as a “Mexico hawk.”
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