On September 30, 2025, President Donald Trump stood before senior officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, delivering a message that would soon ripple throughout Washington and beyond. In what has become a defining move of his administration’s foreign and domestic policy, Trump declared that the United States is now in an "armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels, a stance underscored by a series of recent military actions and a fresh legal designation that places these organizations in the same category as terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or the Islamic State.
According to multiple sources, including Fox News and Bloomberg, the Trump administration sent a confidential notice to Congress during the week of October 3, 2025, formally stating that the U.S. now considers itself engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels. The Pentagon’s notification explained that the U.S. "has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks" by these groups. President Trump has also officially designated the cartels as terrorist organizations, a move that has both legal and practical implications for how the U.S. can pursue them.
In a memo sent to Congress on October 2, the administration elaborated further: "The President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States." The White House, in the same breath, referred to drug runners as "unlawful combatants," a label that expands the range of permissible U.S. responses under international law. Charlie D'Agata of CBS News reported that this declaration gives the administration broader authority to use military force, rather than relying solely on law enforcement or interdiction efforts.
This escalation comes on the heels of several U.S. military strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels from Venezuela. The most notable, cited in the administration's memo, was a September 15 strike in the Caribbean. The U.S. intelligence community assessed the targeted vessel as being affiliated with a designated terrorist organization and actively engaged in trafficking illicit drugs. According to the White House, the strike resulted in the deaths of approximately three "unlawful combatants." The administration maintains that these operations are necessary to protect Americans from the deadly drugs that cartels are attempting to bring into the country.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly defended the administration’s actions in a statement to Fox News, saying, "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, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans." The administration’s notification to Congress emphasized that the cartels "illegally and directly cause the deaths of tens of thousands of American citizens each year."
In August 2025, prior to the public declaration of armed conflict, President Trump approved the deployment of several U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers to bolster counter-narcotics efforts in the Caribbean. This was seen as a clear signal that the administration was prepared to escalate its fight against drug cartels, particularly those operating out of Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is accused by the Trump administration of leading a violent drug cartel and is the subject of a $50 million bounty placed by the U.S. Justice Department, responded defiantly. Maduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and claims that the United States is attempting to force him from power, a charge he has repeated to both domestic and international audiences.
The Trump administration’s memo to Congress did not come out of the blue. It followed weeks of mounting pressure and a series of military actions that, according to the administration, were taken "consistent with [the President’s] responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive to conduct foreign relations." The memo also made clear that the cartels have "grown more armed, well-organized, and violent," with the "financial means, sophistication, and paramilitary capabilities needed to operate with impunity." The administration argues that these organizations are now transnational, conducting "ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere in the form of organized cartels."
Despite the administration’s forceful rhetoric and military actions, critics on Capitol Hill have raised serious concerns. Some congressional Democrats—and even a few Republicans—have argued that the Trump administration is exceeding its legal authority by using the military against drug cartels. They contend that, while the threat posed by the cartels is grave, it remains primarily a law enforcement issue that should be handled by federal agencies with expertise in interdiction and prosecution, not by the U.S. military acting unilaterally abroad. These critics worry about the precedent that such a designation sets and the potential for unintended escalation, particularly with countries like Venezuela, which has already accused the U.S. of meddling in its internal affairs.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as acting national security adviser, has pushed back against these criticisms. Rubio has argued that traditional interdiction efforts have proven ineffective against the increasingly sophisticated and violent cartels. He maintains that only a robust and sustained military response can disrupt the operations of groups that have, in the administration’s words, "the paramilitary capabilities needed to operate with impunity." The White House has also pointed out that friendly foreign nations have made significant efforts to combat these organizations, often suffering significant losses of life in the process.
Meanwhile, speculation is swirling that the administration is considering further strikes inside Venezuela itself. NBC News reported last month that the Trump team is weighing options for more direct actions against cartel targets within Venezuelan territory, a prospect that has already heightened tensions between Washington and Caracas. President Maduro, for his part, has vowed to defend his country against what he calls "U.S. aggression," insisting that Venezuela is prepared to respond to any attacks.
As the situation continues to unfold, the Trump administration’s decision to formally declare an armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels marks a dramatic shift in U.S. policy. By elevating the fight against the cartels to the level of a military campaign and designating them as terrorist organizations, the administration has opened a new chapter in the long-running war on drugs—one that promises to be as contentious as it is consequential for U.S. foreign policy, domestic law enforcement, and the broader security landscape of the Western Hemisphere.
For now, the world is watching to see how this bold strategy plays out, and whether the escalation will lead to the intended results—or spark even greater challenges ahead.
