Trump mulls military action against cartels

President Donald Trump's administration can use the military to go after drug cartels that have been designated as global terrorist organisations and has directed the Pentagon to prepare options, US officials said.

The Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and other drug cartels as global terrorist organisations in February, as Trump stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force against the groups. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday the administration could now use the military to go after cartels.

"It allows us to now target what they're operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies... to target these groups if we have an opportunity to do it," he said. "We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organisations, not simply drug dealing organisations."

A US official confirmed the move but said military action against the designated groups did not appear imminent and it was unclear exactly what type of operations they would carry out. A second US official said the authority would, among other things, give the US Navy the authority to carry out actions at sea.

The US military has already been increasing its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities. However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday that members of the US military would not be entering Mexican territory.

Sheinbaum said her government had been informed of a coming order but that it had nothing to do with the US military operating on Mexican soil. Trump has previously offered to send US troops to Mexico to help Sheinbaum combat drug trafficking, an offer Sheinbaum said in May she had refused.

Trump has said publicly that the US would take unilateral military action if Mexico failed to dismantle drug cartels. Trump considered military action in Mexico during his first term, according to his then defence secretary, Mark Esper.

Esper wrote in his memoir that Trump asked at least twice in 2020 if the military could "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy drug labs." He added that he replied that it would be illegal and an act of war.