President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States is edging closer to taking action against countries that shelter drug cartels. This comes a little over a month after the dramatic capture of Nicolas Maduro from his residence, which saw the U.S. take control of operations in Venezuela.
This development follows an unusual incident where the El Paso airport in Texas, located near the southern border, was temporarily shut down on Wednesday morning. The closure was due to Mexican drones breaching U.S. airspace, raising security concerns.
In a recent interview with Fox News, President Trump proudly stated that drug trafficking into the United States has decreased by 33 percent since Maduro’s surprise capture. He hinted that his administration might expand its military efforts beyond Venezuela, leaving the door open for further actions.
“Now we’re going to start on land,” Trump declared in the interview broadcasted Tuesday night. “We had to tackle the boats first because they would have fled to them immediately.”
He continued, “Now we’re going to hit them on land. We’re going to hit them very hard on land.”
While Trump did not specify the country he intended to target, his administration’s increasingly stern tone towards Mexico has been noticeable. The White House has not dismissed the possibility of extending its focus to other nations in Latin America.
‘The President has left all options on the table to stop drugs from flooding into our country – just as he promised,’ White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Daily Mail when asked whether the president’s remarks were about Venezuela or if he is considering land strikes in other countries.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reopened Wednesday morning just hours after closing airspace around El Paso International Airport along the Texas border with Mexico ‘for special security reasons.’
![President Donald Trump warned the US will start to 'hit [drug cartels] on land' after a months-long operation to strike vessels allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2026/02/11/17/106301995-15550191-President_Donald_Trump_warned_the_US_will_start_to_hit_drug_cart-a-4_1770830399037.jpg)
President Donald Trump warned the US will start to ‘hit [drug cartels] on land’ after a months-long operation to strike vessels allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean
The latest threat comes on the heels of a multiple-hour shutdown of airports around El Paso, Texas on Wednesday morning after Mexican drones entered into US airpsace
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA and the Department of War ‘acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.’
An administration official confirmed to the Daily Mail that ‘Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace.’
The closure was expected to initially last 10 days, but only was in place for a few hours.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a Wednesday morning press conference: ‘There is no information about the use of drones on the border.’
She committed to her administration investigating the incident and looking into ‘the exact causes of why they closed’ US airspace, and urged Trump’s team to contact her government if they have information to share.
Reporting now suggests that it was a disagreement between the FAA and DOW over anti-drone technology testing that actually briefly shut down the airspace.
Earlier this week this tech was used to shoot down what officials thought were foreign drones, but it turned out to be one party balloon, sources told CBS News.
The alleged drone action in Texas had led to some questions over whether Trump might use this to take action in Mexico next.
A person familiar with the administration’s thinking didn’t deny when asked by the Daily Mail that it’s possible that the White House could use this incident as a reason to get more involved on the ground in Mexico to shut down drug cartel activity.
And a former Pentagon official said ‘given the threat’ by the Mexican drone activity, it could predicate retaliation by Trump.
‘The issue is will Mexico act in a way that addresses this threat coming from its territory into the US,’ they added, suggesting that if the Mexican government acts, it could deter Trump from wanting to do it himself.
In September 2025, the War Department began conducting strikes against vessels in the Caribbean and southern Atlantic that were allegedly carrying drugs as the Trump administration moved to stop drug trafficking in the region.
The operation included at least 38 strikes and resulted in the deaths of 128 people.
Trump’s War Department conducted strikes on on at least 38 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Atlantic starting in September 2025 and resulting in in the deaths of 128 people
The operation culminated in the capture and extradition of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from his bunker in Caras on January 3, 2026 – he was brought to New York and charged with narcoterrorism and drug trafficking crimes, among others
This all culminated in the secretive abduction of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their bunker in Venezuela on January 3, 2026. They were extradited to New York where they are facing narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges, among others.
Trump has previously threatened to also conduct US military strikes against drug cartels operating out of Mexico.
He told Fox News in early January that he would ‘start now hitting land with regard to the cartels,’ and directly linked it to the US southern neighbors by claiming: ‘The cartels are running Mexico.’
‘On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to take on the cartels – and he has taken unprecedented action to stop the scourge of narcoterrorism that has resulted in the needless deaths of innocent Americans,’ White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in her statement.
