President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is prepared to carry out military strikes against drug smugglers operating on land after a series of successful naval operations targeting cartel vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the maritime campaign has already prevented tens of thousands of deaths tied to narcotics trafficking. “Every one of those boats that gets knocked out is saving 25,000 American lives,” he said. “We have the greatest military in the world, and the only way you can’t feel bad about it is knowing what it prevents.”
The president confirmed that U.S. forces have conducted eight strikes on cartel-linked boats in recent weeks, most recently in the Eastern Pacific, under what the administration describes as a coordinated counter-narcotics initiative. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the targets were identified as “narco-terrorists” operating outside U.S. territorial waters.
Trump said the naval operations have reduced maritime smuggling and that traffickers are beginning to shift tactics. “There are very few boats traveling on the water, so now they’ll come in by land,” he said. “And they will be hit on land also.”
Pressed on whether he had legal authority to authorize strikes within the United States, Trump said federal law allows such action in the interest of national security. “Yes, we do,” he said. “We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land … but we have to do it to save lives.”
Trump cited drug overdose deaths as part of the administration’s justification for expanding operations. “They killed 300,000 Americans last year, and that gives you legal authority,” he said, adding that Congress will be briefed on the scope of upcoming missions.
Officials said the counter-smuggling initiative is led jointly by the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, with cooperation from the U.S. Coast Guard and international partners in the Pacific. The White House described the ongoing actions as a “national defense priority” aimed at dismantling transnational criminal networks responsible for narcotics distribution in the United States.
