Authored by Joseph Lord and Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump announced in an interview aired Jan. 8 that the United States would begin launching strikes on cartels in Mexico.

“We knocked out 97 percent of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land with regard with the cartels,” Trump told Sean Hannity from Fox News.

“The cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country.

“They’re killing 250,000, 300,000 in our country every single year.”

The announcement comes just five days after Trump ordered an operation to capture and remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to the United States to face criminal charges, including narco-terrorism.

Trump gave a warning to several Latin American countries following the U.S. strike on Venezuela and Maduro’s capture.

The president also warned Mexico on Sunday that it needs to “get its act together,” referring to drug cartels operating in the country.

“You have to do something with Mexico,” Trump told reporters during his trip back to Washington from Florida. “We’re going to have to do something. We’d love Mexico to do it; they’re capable of doing it, but unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”

Trump said that he had spoken to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on a number of occasions, saying that the United States has offered to send troops into her country. However, he described her as “afraid” and that the “cartels are running Mexico,” not her

Mexico has repeatedly opposed U.S. proposals to fight drug cartels in the country.

“We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning press conference on Monday. “The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: Intervention has never brought democracy, never generated well-being, nor lasting stability.”

Trump’s administration has intensified anti-cartel measures, including designating Mexican syndicates as terrorist organizations, a step he announced years ago. Officials say sea-based trafficking has been nearly halted, prompting a pivot to land operations.

Trump has previously said no formal war declaration is necessary.

“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country,” Trump said on Oct. 23, 2025.

U.S. officials have linked cartels to tens of thousands of American overdose deaths annually. Trump has criticized Sheinbaum for declining U.S. offers to dismantle the cartels.

Trump did not give a timeline for land strikes against cartels.