US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his country is about to launch “ground” attacks against drug cartels, which he said “are running Mexico”.
“We’re going to start hitting on the ground when it comes to the cartels,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
Trump says he will initiate attacks against cartels in Mexico
🇺🇸🇲🇽 | URGENT: Trump says U.S. will conduct ground attacks against cartels.
“We are going to start right now to attack on the ground, as far as the cartels are concerned. The cartels rule Mexico.”pic.twitter.com/ONcMn2u8dz
– World Alert (@AlertaMundoNews) January 9, 2026
His statements come less than a week after Washington executed an operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and bring him before a Federal Court in New York to be tried for “narcoterrorism”.
“The cartels are running Mexico. It’s very very sad to see and realize what has happened in that country,” Trump said.
“But the cartels are running it and they’re killing 250,000 or 300,000 people in our country every year,” the Republican added in the Fox News interview aired Thursday night.
Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has said he will crack down hard on drug trafficking.
Especially fentanyl from Mexico and has offered to send the U.S. military to attack drug trafficking.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has declined these proposals, arguing that Mexico is a sovereign country and that her government is committed to a peaceful solution.
Last Sunday, Trump praised his Mexican counterpart but considered that the president “is worried” and “a little scared about the cartels controlling Mexico.
“Something has to be done with Mexico. Mexico has to get its act together, because they (narcotics) are filtering out of Mexico.
“And we’re going to have to do something. We would love for Mexico to do it. They are capable of doing it, but unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico,” the New York magnate said a day after the operation to apprehend Maduro.
Trump and his Cabinet have insisted in recent days that Washington will not hesitate to use its military might to defend its national security, which it considers threatened by Mexican cartels.
With information from EFE
