Hegseth Signals Stronger US Action Targeting Mexican Cartels

Defense chief says the United States will act to defend Americans from cartel violence, while Mexico’s president stresses her country’s sovereignty.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news briefing at the White House on Aug. 11, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Aug. 11 that the government is taking action against Mexican drug cartels and will move to protect the American people.

Hegseth told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham that defeating the cartels is a priority for the Trump administration.

“Where appropriate, when given the opportunity, when it makes sense at the directive of the president, we will take action to defend the American people,” he said.

Hegseth said the U.S. military and government agencies continue working to close the border, but didn’t confirm whether sending troops to Mexico is being considered.

“I can’t reveal anything, but I’m not tipping my hand that there will be U.S. troops in Mexico. That’s not what I’m saying,” he said.

“This is something we’re not taking lying down anymore. If you’re trafficking in drugs, you’re trafficking in people, you’re trafficking in violence that affect the American people, that’s unacceptable.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in her morning news conference on Aug. 11 that her country’s government could take steps to coordinate security issues.

“This isn’t just now, it has existed before, and before, and before, it’s not something new,” she said.

Sheinbaum said her country’s sovereignty will not be jeopardized.

“We will never jeopardize Mexico’s independence. Mexico is a free, sovereign, independent country,” she said.

Trump’s Presidential Order

During President Donald Trump’s campaign, he promised to combat foreign drug cartels and gang violence. Following his inauguration on Jan. 20, he issued an order designating international cartels and other criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations.

“Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States,” the presidential declaration stated.

The order called for the eradication of these criminal organizations.

“It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States,” it stated.

Trump directed the secretaries of state and homeland security, the attorney general, and other authorities to take necessary actions to achieve this.

The State Department, on Feb. 20, designated the criminal groups Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel del Golfo, and Cárteles Unidos as foreign terrorist organizations.

The U.S. Treasury Department on July 26 also designated Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns as a global terrorist entity. It accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and senior officials in his regime of leading the group and supporting major drug cartels whose activities threaten U.S. national security.

On Aug. 7, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $50 million reward—double a previous offer—for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.