Overview
- The announcement follows months of U.S. maritime strikes, with Southern Command reporting this week that a latest boat strike in the Eastern Pacific killed two suspects and left one survivor.
- Trump credited the sea campaign with cutting fentanyl and other drug flows by about 33%, saying the shift to land operations aims to prevent traffickers from rerouting.
- The White House has not specified which countries could be involved or whether it will seek congressional authorization for any land operations.
- A brief FAA shutdown of airspace over El Paso was attributed to unspecified security reasons, with conflicting accounts over alleged cartel drones and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum saying her government has no information indicating drone use.
- Latin American leaders have voiced sovereignty concerns as the administration designates major Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and cites January’s capture and extradition of Nicolás Maduro on narcotics-related charges as part of its campaign.