White House weighs sending troops, intelligence teams to Mexico to target drug cartels
The Trump administration is developing plans to send U.S. troops and intelligence officers to Mexico to help target drug cartel leadership with precision strikes.
(NBC)- The Trump administration is developing plans to send U.S. troops and intelligence officers to Mexico to help target drug cartel leadership with precision strikes, four current and former U.S. officials tell NBC News.
Officials emphasize that a deployment is not imminent and that what is under way is detailed planning and option-building rather than an approved mission. The effort comes after a series of U.S. strikes on vessels the administration says were smuggling drugs, operations that U.S. officials say have killed dozens of suspected smugglers.
President Donald Trump was noncommittal when asked about broader land operations or potential war with Venezuela, saying he would not discuss operational details but adding, “I doubt it. I don’t think so,” while criticizing Venezuela’s leadership and accusing it of enabling narcotics flows and large-scale migration.
Administration officials say the moves reflect increasing pressure in Washington to disrupt trafficking networks upstream. But the strikes at sea and talk of expanding operations onto foreign soil have sparked criticism from lawmakers and legal experts, who question the legal authority for unilateral U.S. military action in another country without its consent or a clear congressional mandate.
The president has described leaders of some foreign regimes as “narco-terrorists” and has authorized a series of actions the administration says are aimed at choking off drug supplies bound for the United States. Overnight, the White House also ordered Pentagon planning for possible operations in other hot spots, including Nigeria, where U.S. officials say extremist violence has surged.
Critics in Congress and elsewhere have demanded more information and legal justification for actions that could expand U.S. military engagements in the region. “These types of strikes raise significant questions about sovereignty, international law and congressional oversight,” one former national security official said off the record.
NBC News national security correspondent Courtney Kube reports that defense officials describe current planning as focused on precision drone strikes and intelligence options to target leadership — while stressing that planners may ultimately recommend no action at all.
