August 8, 2025
Trump orders Pentagon to target drug cartels with US forces
Military replaces diplomacy in Latin American drug war
🛡️National Security🌍Foreign Policy🏛️Government
Trump signed secret directive on August 8, 2025, authorizing Pentagon to prepare military options against drug cartels
State Department designated eight cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations on February 20, 2025, not Pentagon
Executive Order 14157 signed January 20, 2025, created FTO designation process for cartels
First military strike occurred September 2, 2025, killing 11 people on alleged drug boat
As of December 31, 2025, at least 115 people killed in 35 strikes on 36 vessels
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected U.S. military operations on Mexican soil
Justice Department claimed November 2025 that boat strikes don't trigger War Powers Resolution requirements
Senate Republicans voted 48-51 in October 2025 to reject legislation limiting Trump's cartel strike authority
🛡️National Security🌍Foreign Policy🏛️Government
Test Your Knowledge
10
Q1
On August 8, 2025, did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum assert that U.S. military forces would not operate on Mexican soil following reports of a secret U.S. directive to target drug cartels?
Q2
What constitutional authority did President Trump invoke when he signed a secret directive on August 8, 2025, ordering the Pentagon to prepare military options against drug cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations?
Q3
Would the deployment of armed force by a State against a non-state criminal group located in another State’s territory without the host State’s consent violate Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter?
Q4
How much does it cost to build a new fentanyl lab in Mexico?
Q5
What is the purpose of deploying over 4,000 Marines and naval assets to the Caribbean and Latin America?
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Start QuizPeople, bills, and sources
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
Claudia Sheinbaum
President of Mexico
Rand Paul
U.S. Senator (R-KY)
Lisa Murkowski
U.S. Senator (R-AK)