President Donald Trump has now reportedly formally determined that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with international drug cartels, organizations he has now designated as terrorist groups. In a memo reportedly sent to Congress this week, the president outlined the growing threat posed by narcoterrorists and asserted that American forces remain ready to act decisively to safeguard the nation.
According to the memo, Trump concluded that these cartels constitute “non-state armed groups” whose operations amount to “an armed attack against the United States.” The administration argued that the cumulative effect of cartel violence and drug smuggling represents not only a domestic threat but also a danger to “friendly foreign nations.”
“The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations,” the document said.
The designation of violent gangs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations underscores the administration’s willingness to treat the cartels not as conventional criminals but as hostile combatants. Trump’s approach reframes cartel violence as a matter of national security rather than law enforcement.
In recent weeks, the administration has taken military action to enforce this stance. On September 2, American forces carried out a strike against a drug-running vessel operated by Tren de Aragua, which had departed Venezuela “loaded with a lot of drugs,” Trump said. Less than two weeks later, on September 15, U.S. forces targeted another boat in the Caribbean Sea. That operation killed three traffickers and prevented their shipment from reaching American shores, according to the Department of War.
Officials said the strikes were a necessary response to the cartels’ unrelenting attempts to traffic dangerous narcotics into the United States. The memo described the country as being at a “critical point” requiring the use of force to prevent “further deaths or injury to American citizens.”
The president’s defenders argue that the move fulfills a longstanding promise to confront the cartels head-on, using every available tool to combat the flow of drugs and the violence that accompanies them. “As we have said many times, the President acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. She added that Trump was “delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans.”
The administration has characterized the strikes not as isolated measures but as part of a broader campaign to treat cartel activity with the seriousness it demands. By designating the organizations as terrorist groups and responding militarily, Trump has sought to redefine America’s war on drugs as a war against international terror.
While critics may view the move as an escalation, the administration insists the stakes are clear: with cartels pumping narcotics into American communities and fueling violence, the president has decided that the fight must be waged with the full weight of U.S. power.
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