President Donald Trump has secretly signed a directive instructing the Pentagon to use U.S. military force against selected Latin American drug cartels that Washington has labeled foreign terrorist organizations, according to multiple accounts first reported by the New York Times on Aug. 8. The order provides a formal basis for potential operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels such as Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles, the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the Salvadoran group Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and six Mexican organizations including the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, all designated as terrorist entities earlier this year. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the move reflects Trump’s priority of “protecting the homeland.” Senator Marco Rubio, who has pressed for a tougher stance, argued the cartels wield firepower comparable to insurgent groups and should no longer be treated as ordinary criminals. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government was briefed on the directive and stressed that it does not entail U.S. troops entering Mexican territory, adding, “there will be no invasion.” She said any U.S. agencies operating in Mexico remain subject to strict regulation. Legal analysts note the plan tests the scope of the Civil War–era Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts military involvement in law-enforcement activities, and raises questions about the use of lethal force against civilians outside a conflict authorized by Congress. The Defense Department has not commented on the report.