President Trump has escalated pressure on Mexican drug cartels by designating them as foreign terrorist organizations, laying the groundwork for potential U.S. military action. This designation has enabled surveillance flights over Mexico and the deployment of Navy warships off its coast. Intelligence and military coordination is increasing as the Trump administration explores targeted strikes to dismantle cartel operations responsible for the fentanyl crisis.
Ecuadorian authorities, in coordination with U.S. law enforcement, captured one of the country’s most violent and powerful cartel leaders this week in a major blow to organized crime. Jose Adolfo “Fito” Macias, head of the Los Choneros cartel, was arrested while hiding in a bunker, according to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) special agents, working alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seized more than $2.4 million worth of methamphetamine at the Pharr Port of Entry this week. The bust resulted in the arrest of a Mexican national attempting to smuggle nearly 400 bundles of the narcotic into the United States.
The U.S. Coast Guard made a massive drug bust this month, offloading 28,000 pounds of cocaine worth $211.3 million at Port Everglades on Thursday. The haul was the result of four major interdictions in the Eastern Pacific, led by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter team.
In a significant development, Chinese President Xi Jinping has dispatched Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong to Switzerland for high-level trade negotiations with the United States.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced one of the largest fentanyl seizures in U.S. history, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by illegal drug trafficking and its connection to illegal immigration.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum refused to address former President Donald J. Trump's claim that she is afraid of drug cartels, sidestepping the issue during a national press briefing. Trump had stated Sheinbaum was “so afraid of the cartels she can’t think straight,” following a phone call in which he offered to deploy U.S. troops to help dismantle cartel operations. Sheinbaum declined the offer and has since refrained from directly confronting Trump’s comments.
Former Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva leveled serious accusations against President Gustavo Petro in a public letter on April 22, claiming the far-left leader suffers from drug addiction and is being manipulated by his closest advisors. Leyva, who served under Petro from August 2022 to May 2024, said the president’s alleged condition poses a national security threat.
