Posted on 08/08/2025 10:44:20 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The president has ordered the Pentagon to use the armed forces to carry out what in the past was considered law enforcement.
President Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that his administration has deemed terrorist organizations, according to people familiar with the matter.
The decision to bring the American military into the fight is the most aggressive step so far in the administration’s escalating campaign against the cartels. It signals Mr. Trump’s continued willingness to use military forces to carry out what has primarily been considered a law enforcement responsibility to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs.
The order provides an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels.
U.S. military officials have started drawing up options for how the military could go after the groups, the people familiar with the conversations said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations.
But directing the military to crack down on the illicit trade also raises legal issues, including whether it would count as “murder” if U.S. forces acting outside of a congressionally authorized armed conflict were to kill civilians — even criminal suspects — who pose no imminent threat.
It is unclear what White House, Pentagon and State Department lawyers have said about the new directive or whether the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has produced an authoritative opinion assessing the legal issues.
Already this year Mr. Trump has deployed National Guard and active duty troops to the southwest border to choke off the flow of drugs as well as immigrants, and has increased surveillance and drug interdiction efforts.
When he returned to office in January, Mr. Trump...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Can’t the NYT keep a secret? Lol.
4 people to write this crap?
If those cartels are not destroyed, they’ll be back after this administration is gone.
And they’ll be far worse.
Dont destroy those cartels and every single criminal activity reduction will be temporary.
End of story.
This should really put the kibosh on rat fundraising.
secretly signed a directive
It is unclear
What a joy it is to have a president who is unapologetically and unequivocally standing up for and defending our country.
who pose no imminent threat?
Leave it to the NYT to minimize what cartels do.
The administration’s leaky bucket keeps on giving...
When will this crap end?
I’m very sure I can support this statement with facts and data, but the Democrat party of America is a “Cartel”.
The only reason they get elected is they keep a minority of American voters, Drug and perversion enabled.
The reason Mexican cartels thrive is because Democrat policies allow them to thrive in the USA.
Not saying Republicans are perfect!
However, my income, my family’s safety is far better under the rule of Republicans than it ever was under Democrats.
As for drugs, I don’t GAS. I’ve lost family members to drug usage. Nobody made them take drugs, that was their bad decisions, all the government in the world cannot fix that.
I don’t need an oppressive government! telling us what is right and wrong. That is what family and community is for.
So maybe we are finally going to get an *ACTUAL* "War on Drugs."
I keep telling people, we haven't had a war on drugs. If we had, there would be massive amounts of enemy dead bodies lying around.
Way past time we started fighting it as though it were an actual war.
Aren’t the cartels designated terrorist groups?
That's why he's willing. Law enforcement has failed.
Looks like the people at The New York Times disapprove.
Do they like the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs?
Do they dislike it but dislike Trump more?
"The order provides an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels."
Excellent idea! The cartels have effectively declared war on the USA and the American People. It's high time we responded appropriately. Like it or not, we are at war with the cartels.
"directing the military to crack down on the illicit trade also raises legal issues, including whether it would count as “murder” if U.S. forces acting outside of a congressionally authorized armed conflict were to kill civilians — even criminal suspects — who pose no imminent threat."
WHO POSE NO IMMINENT THREAT???!?? ARE THESE PEOPLE NUTS!
"Already this year Mr. Trump has deployed National Guard and active duty troops to the southwest border to choke off the flow of drugs as well as immigrants, and has increased surveillance and drug interdiction efforts."
YES! THANK GOD FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP!
And the people at The New York Times think this is a bad idea?
YES! THEY ARE NUTS!
Only for DemonRats.
Cause they've been so wildly successful and efficient in that task. /sarc
LR artillery is accurate enough these days to take out all the cartels north of Mexico City.
This is big time, and rightly so, escalation. Live fire training for the black ops guys.
you can tell the degree to which an article in a hard leftist rag is fake by the number of authors in the byline ...
Isn’t the list of contributors just to fulfill that everyone gets credit for any contribution at all, for their resume and career?
Aren’t even movie credits longer than they used to be?
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