President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. troops to use military force against drug cartels, according to The New York Times.
The president secretly signed an order targeting cartels that he has labeled as foreign terrorist organizations, The New York Times reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Pentagon officials are currently forming strategies for the military to confront the Latin American criminal networks responsible for flooding the U.S. with deadly illicit drugs, the outlet’s sources said.
“President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The White House did not comment on Trump’s reported order authorizing the military to target the cartels. (RELATED: Pentagon Gearing Up To Provide 20,000 Troops For Immigration Clampdown)
It is not clear when Trump enacted the policy, according to the NYT. Trump’s order could provide the official basis for overt military action against the cartels on foreign soil or at sea, though legal issues could arise given that Trump’s approach is novel.
Trump has increased the military’s role in addressing immigration problems by sending thousands of troops to secure the Southern border since he returned to office, Military.com reported. The Pentagon told the DCNF in June that it was reviewing a request from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assist with as many as 20,000 troops.
Trump also convinced Mexico to send 10,000 of its own National Guard troops to discourage illegal immigration into the U.S. in February in exchange for a pause on Trump’s tariffs.
The Pentagon declined to comment.
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