WASHINGTON — President Trump has secretly authorized the military to use force against Latin American drug cartels classified as foreign terrorist organizations, The Post has learned.
The move is the most aggressive action Trump has yet taken against gangs trafficking drugs like fentanyl across the US-Mexico border, the activities of which were previously the purview of federal law enforcement.
The order, first reported Friday by the New York Times, gives US forces official permission to engage cartels on land and 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 anti-cartel effort is being coordinated among several departments, including the Department of Defense, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Treasury, the source added.
“President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland,” deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement, “which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.”
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