America’s Secret War on the Cartels Has Begun

The US has fundamentally shifted its strategy against cartels, designating them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and employing military force, leading to a new era of warfare where traditional law enforcement tactics are replaced by military strikes and intelligence operations.

• US designates cartels as FTOs, enabling military intervention.

• First US Navy missile strike killed 11 suspected drug runners, changing rules of engagement.

• Cartels are adapting to military pressure, evolving into potential narco-insurgent forces.

The US has abandoned decades of traditional law enforcement tactics against cartels, now categorizing them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) to authorize military intervention. This shift allows the Pentagon to target cartels with naval destroyers and drone strikes, bypassing legal technicalities and extradition treaties. The first military strike in the Caribbean, which destroyed a smuggling vessel and killed 11 individuals, signals a new, aggressive approach to combat drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, which is now argued to be a form of chemical warfare.

Shifting US Strategy

• 00:00:00 The US has initiated an unprecedented shift in its approach to combating cartels, moving from traditional law enforcement to direct military engagement. This new strategy involves targeting traffickers with military force, bypassing arrests or trials, marking a significant departure from four decades of predictable enforcement tactics. This change aims to strike fear into cartels that previously thrived under a system they had learned to manipulate through corruption and legal loopholes.

Legal Framework for Military Action

• 00:03:47 The transformation of US anti-cartel policy began with Executive Order 14157 in January 2025, leading to the official designation of eight organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) in February 2025. This designation legally authorizes the US military to target these groups similarly to ISIS or Al-Qaeda, allowing for military force, signals intelligence without warrants, drone strikes, and global asset freezes, under the argument that fentanyl trafficking constitutes a 'weapon of mass destruction' and an attack on US national security.

First Military Strike & Impact

• 00:06:06 The new strategy's first strike occurred in early September 2025 in the Caribbean Sea, where a US Navy ship destroyed a 40-foot cigarette boat suspected of drug smuggling, killing 11 people. This action, carefully chosen for maximum impact and minimum diplomatic blowback in international waters, sent a clear message to cartels that the rules of engagement had irrevocably changed. Intercepted cartel communications immediately after the strike revealed widespread panic and uncertainty about this new, overt aggression.

Future Scenarios & Consequences

• 00:18:26 Three main scenarios are predicted for the evolving conflict: 'go big or go home' escalation into Mexico, a delicate de-escalation requiring face-saving from all sides, or a 'Forever War' of unending raids and shifting cartel tactics. This new military pressure will force cartels to evolve rapidly, potentially becoming supercharged narco-insurgents or splintering into smaller, harder-to-track groups. The long-term consequences, including potential conflicts with neighboring countries like Mexico and the erosion of international legal norms, are expected to unfold over decades, raising questions about the effectiveness of rule of law approaches to transnational crime.