President Donald Trump on Thursday raised the prospect of U.S. military ground operations targeting drug cartels inside Mexico, signaling a potential escalation in the administration’s campaign against transnational narcotics networks.
In an interview with Sean Hannity that aired on Fox News, Trump pointed to what he described as major gains in maritime drug interdiction and suggested that land-based action could follow. “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 said.
🚨 Trump says the US will be conducting land strikes against the cartels. "We are gonna start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico." pic.twitter.com/63sOf5NWIy
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 9, 2026
The president also painted a bleak picture of conditions south of the border, adding, “The cartels are running Mexico, it’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country.”
The comments mark a notable sharpening of Trump’s rhetoric on border security and drug enforcement, and come amid heightened concern over fentanyl and other illicit drugs entering the United States. Administration officials have repeatedly blamed Mexican-based cartels for dominating production and distribution networks fueling the overdose crisis.
Trump’s remarks follow a series of aggressive U.S. actions and warnings across the region. In recent days, American forces conducted strikes and detained Venezuela’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. The administration has also issued warnings of possible military intervention in Cuba and Colombia, while reviving discussions about acquiring Greenland.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarification on whether the president’s comments reflected an active operational plan or a broader strategic posture.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has previously pushed back against the idea of U.S. military action on Mexican soil, emphasizing national sovereignty even as the two governments cooperate on security and law-enforcement issues. No immediate response from her administration to Trump’s latest remarks was available.
The suggestion of U.S. ground operations in Mexico represents a significant policy signal with potentially far-reaching diplomatic consequences. Any unilateral military action would mark a sharp departure from longstanding counter-narcotics practice and could strain relations between the two neighbors as the Trump administration presses an increasingly confrontational approach to transnational crime.
