The presidential decree makes it possible for the US military to carry out offensive operations at sea and on foreign soil against the cartels. According to sources, officials within the military have begun to develop alternatives for how the military could proceed.
Shortly after the newspaper's revelation, Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum said that "there will be no invasion of Mexico" as a result of Trump's order.
"We were informed that this presidential decree was on its way and that it had nothing to do with the participation of military personnel or any institution on our territory," she said during a press conference.
Trump has long been waging war on fentanyl and the cartels that bring the drug into the US. During the election campaign, Trump swore that the US under his leadership will deploy "all military capabilities required" in the fight against the powerful foreign cartels that bring drugs into the country – as they, according to him, wage war on the US.
In connection with Donald Trump's accession as president in January, several Latin American cartels were terrorist-listed.
