(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to take direct actions against Latin American cartels, including conducting operations on foreign soil. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has labeled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the leader of a cartel and is offering a $50 million reward for his capture.
The New York Times reports, “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.”
The Times adds, “The order provides an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels.”
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the State and Treasury Departments have listed several Latin American cartels as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The targeted gangs include Tren de Aragua (TdA), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and Cártel de Sinaloa. In July, Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) was added to the list.
On Thursday, Rubio explained that placing cartels on the SDGT list allows for the use of “other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever, to target these groups if we have an opportunity to do it.”
He added, “We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug-dealing organizations.”
Secretary of State Rubio has claimed Venezuelan President Maduro is the leader of Cartel de los Soles. On Thursday, he said the State Department was offering a $50 million bounty on Maduro.
“The State Department and Department of Justice are increasing the reward for the arrest of dictator Nicolás Maduro to $50 million for violating U.S. anti-narcotics laws,” Rubio wrote on X. “Maduro is the leader of the ruthless Los Soles Cartel, a narcoterrorist organization that has taken over Venezuela. Maduro MUST be brought to justice.”
The Times report did not specify which countries might be targeted or what would happen if local troops resisted the foreign military operations on their soil. Black listed cartels are based in several Latin American countries, including Venezuela, El Salvador, and Mexico.
The Mexican government rejected a proposal from Trump earlier this year that would have allowed the US military to target cartels in Mexico. The Times notes the CIA is currently conducting surveillance flights over Mexico.
Congress has not authorized Trump to attack cartels, so any military actions would be unconstitutional. However, the President and Congress have long ignored the Constitutional process for war-making.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
