A Newsweek map shows the dominant Mexican drug cartel areas against which President Donald Trump has vowed a crackdown.
Trump told Fox News that the U.S. was “going to start now hitting land” in its fight against drug cartels that he says are running Mexico as he ramps up his rhetoric against narcotics trafficking.
Mexico’s Frente Nacional en Defensa de la Soberanía, which appears to be affiliated with the ruling Morena party, condemned Trump’s statement as an infringement of the country’s sovereignty.
Brandon Buck, from the CATO Institute, told Newsweek on Friday that the likely targets would be the cartels’ leadership or symbolic strikes against smugglers, rather than focusing on infrastructure.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Newsweek in a statement that the Trump administration was reasserting and enforcing the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, control migration, and stop drug trafficking.
Trump has talked tough on drugs and has ramped up his sea-based campaign against alleged narcotics traffickers. His latest comment suggests he is ready for an escalation from a maritime-focused counter-narcotics campaign into Mexican territory, which would raise questions about whether it breaches sovereignty and congressional authority.
What To Know
In an interview with Fox News, Trump announced Thursday that U.S. forces would begin ground operations in Mexico targeting drug cartels.
After months of naval strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean against those he said are linked to the drug trade, he said that the U.S. would now start hitting land targets linked to cartels, which he said are “running Mexico.”
Trump gave no further details on the timing or locations of any planned land attacks, but his comments sparked alarm from the group National Front in Defense of Sovereignty, which is said to be linked to the ruling party.
It said, “Mexico’s sovereignty is non-negotiable, not for sale, and will not be discussed under pressure, ultimatums, or external intimidation.” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected foreign military intervention.
The White House told Newsweek in a statement that Trump “has many options at his disposal to continue to protect our homeland from illicit narcotics that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year,” without specifying further.
Six Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. Department of State.
The Sinaloa cartel is described by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in its National Drug Threat Assessment 2025 as one of the largest smugglers to the U.S. of illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
As Newsweek’s map shows, the Sinaloa cartel has the greatest reach with a significant presence in the Sinaloa state, from which it gets its name, as well as from Baja California in the northwest down to the Yucatan and Quintana Roo states in the southeast. It also has a strong presence in states including Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is also significant according to the DEA, with a strong presence in states in the middle of Mexico, including Jalisco, Michoacan, and Veracruz. It has been locked in violent competition with Sinaloa, which killed more than 30,000 people last year.
The Northeast cartel dominates the northeast of the country, while the Michoacán Family is prevalent in the states of Michoacán and Guerrero. The other groups listed by the DEA are the Gulf and United Cartels.
Buck, foreign policy research fellow at the Cato Institute, told Newsweek the focus for the U.S. would likely be on the cartel leaders and that going after infrastructure would be difficult because there’s not much visual infrastructure associated with the fentanyl trade.
He said the strikes on boats in the Caribbean were largely visual, and any strikes ordered by Trump would probably be relatively close to the U.S. border, because targeting further inside Mexico would likely raise the risk of civilian casualties.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, to Fox News: “We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico; it’s very sad to watch, to see what’s happening to that country.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, in a statement to Newsweek: “As President Trump outlined in his National Security Strategy, the administration is reasserting and enforcing the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, control migration, and stop drug trafficking. The President has many options at his disposal to continue to protect our homeland from illicit narcotics that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year.”
Mexico’s Frente Nacional en Defensa de la Soberanía, affiliated with Mexico’s ruling Morena party, said in a statement: “We strongly condemn the recent statements by President Donald J. Trump and the United States administration, which pose a direct threat to the territorial integrity, independence, and free rights of Mexico as a sovereign nation.”
Brandon Buck, foreign policy research fellow at the Cato Institute: “Going after infrastructure would be difficult because there’s not much visual infrastructure associated with the fentanyl trade.”
What Happens Next
Trump gave no further details about a U.S. operation in Mexico, which would get significant pushback from Mexico City and internationally as a violation of sovereignty. Buck said that one possibility is that the threat by Trump could be used as a means by Washington to coerce the Mexican government into further cooperation on combating the drug trade.