Trump vows to expand anti-cartel strikes from sea to land
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Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said the United States would “shoot down” drug traffickers trying to enter the United States by land, following a series of deadly attacks on cartel boats at sea.
The president was questioned about his use of military force to crack down on drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific following the eighth attack in recent weeks.
Trump acknowledged that “this involved violence” but said “each boat that overturned saves 25,000 American lives.”
“We have the best military in the world. We have the best weapons in the world. And you see some of it there, one shot at a time, dead center after another. And the only way you don’t feel bad about it is to realize that every time you see it happen, you’re saving 25,000 American lives.”
TRUMP’S WAR ON THE CARTELS ENTERS NEW PHASE AS EXPERTS PREDICT WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT
President Donald Trump declared an “armed conflict” against cartels transporting drugs to the United States and launched a series of attacks on drug ships. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social; Evan Vucci/AP Photo; Aaron Favila/AP Photo)
“Every time I see this I tell myself I saved 25,000 lives,” he added.
In the wake of these attacks, Trump said “there are very few boats traveling on the water, so now they will be coming by land to a lesser extent.”
“And they will be hit from land as well,” he said.
Asked if he had the legal authority to launch attacks against drug traffickers on U.S. soil, Trump confidently replied, “Yes, we do.”
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The suspected drug smuggling ship is shown at left moments before it was destroyed in a US strike on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. (X.com/SecWar)
“We have the legal authority, we have permission to do this,” he said, “and if we do it by land, we can go back to Congress.”
“We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we did when we come into the country,” he insisted, while adding, “We don’t have to do that.”
“This is a national security issue,” Trump said. “They killed 300,000 Americans last year, and that gives you legal authority.”
“We will hit them very hard when they come in by land,” he vowed, adding, “They haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that.”
TRUMP REFUSES TO PREVENT HITTING ON VENEZUELA. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN TRUMP’S WAR ON DRUGS?
Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant small boat crew transports seized illegal drugs from a fast-moving-style vessel back to the cutter in the Caribbean Sea, Aug. 15, 2025. (Coast Guard)
“It’s going to be something very serious. It’s the equivalent of what happens at sea. And we’re going to Congress just to tell them what we’re doing, to inform them. But we have to do this for national security. We have to do this to save lives.”
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The military has carried out its first kinetic strike against “narco-terrorists” in the Eastern Pacific at Trump’s direction, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday. This was the eighth strike in recent weeks.
