First reported Friday by The New York Times, the order grants U.S. forces formal authority to take action against cartels both on land and at sea.

“The president is determined to not just dismantle – but completely destroy – [Venezuelan dictator Nicolas] Maduro’s Cartel de Los Soles and obliterate their operations in the Western Hemisphere,” a source close to the White House said.

The State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations engaged in drug trafficking includes Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, the Cartel de Los Soles, and the El Salvador-based Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13.

Trump openly floated the idea during the 2024 campaign of authorizing military action against drug cartels operating inside Mexico, the New York Post reported.

Since returning to office, he has increased tariffs on Canada and Mexico, citing their failure to curb drug and human smuggling into the United States, and has directed immigration authorities to target