A U.S. administration asserted in 2025 that transnational drug cartels have evolved into transnational terror organizations and that the United States is engaged in an 'armed conflict' with those cartels under the same legal authority invoked after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
October 24, 2025
high
policy
Describes the legal rationale invoked by U.S. officials to justify use of military force against drug cartels.
The U.S. military has conducted a series of maritime operations targeting suspected narco-terror groups in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific as part of a campaign against transnational drug cartels.
October 24, 2025
high
operations
Summarizes the pattern of military activity focusing on maritime interdiction of groups linked to narcotics trafficking.
U.S. Southern Command can establish counter-narcotics joint task forces to coordinate military and interagency efforts against transnational drug cartels.
October 17, 2025
high
organizational
Regional combatant commands may form joint task forces focused on counter-narcotics to unify resources and missions across services and agencies.