President Trump’s administration has formally notified Congress that the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict” with transnational drug cartels, a stark but necessary recognition of the threat these criminal networks pose to American communities. The memo, obtained and reported this week, explicitly labels cartel operatives as unlawful combatants — language long overdue given the carnage fentanyl and cartel violence have inflicted on our towns.
This escalation follows U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean that targeted boats suspected of trafficking narcotics, operations officials say resulted in multiple deaths and disrupted deadly drug runs. Critics will scream about “overreach,” but the reality is simple: when law enforcement can’t stop a flow of poison into our country, the administration must use every tool to shut it down.
The memo goes further, calling these criminal enterprises non-state armed groups and asserting they conduct attacks that amount to armed aggression against the United States. That designation changes the legal landscape and gives commanders the legal framework to go after violent narco-terrorists rather than treating them as garden-variety criminals. For decades Americans have watched a shadow war cross our southern border; recognition matters.
Unsurprisingly, the predictable chorus from the left is focused on process and semantics, demanding more transparency and waving war-powers concerns — even as overdose deaths climb and cartel armies grow bolder. Washington’s reluctance to call the enemy by its name has been part of the problem; lawmakers who balk at naming the stakes should explain to victims’ families why bureaucratic niceties outrank saving American lives.
Conservative members of Congress are moving the right direction, pushing resolutions to give the President clearer authority to use military force against the cartels and their command-and-control networks. If Democrats refuse to act, Republicans should unite behind a simple choice: protect the homeland or defend the status quo that enables cartels to profit from American suffering. This is not about warmongering; it’s about stopping an invasion of poison and violence.
Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers but could not provide a neat public list of every group designated in the memo, a detail that frustrated some members of Congress who demand specifics. Fine — but let no one pretend that bureaucratic transparency matters more than halting drug shipments that fuel crime and death across our neighborhoods. The hard truth is that confronting transnational cartels requires unconventional responses.
Latin American governments and human-rights groups have raised alarms about U.S. strikes and the new designation, voicing concerns about sovereignty and civilian harm. Their outrage rings hollow to Americans whose children are dying from fentanyl and whose communities are terrorized by cartel-run trafficking networks; nations that abet or shelter these groups must choose sides or face consequences. Leadership means making tough calls — and defending American lives first.
Congress should act now to provide clear, legal backing for effective operations while demanding strict oversight that preserves accountability and limits mission creep. Conservatives must insist on both strength and prudence: give the military the tools to dismantle cartel networks, insist on clear objectives, and bring every resource to bear to end the flow of death into our streets. The American people deserve nothing less than leaders willing to fight for their safety.
