As reports surfaced that President Donald Trump has issued a directive to the Pentagon to target Latin American drug cartels, it is instructive to note the frightening capabilities of weaponry these criminal groups are reported to employ in order to intimidate governments and possibly threaten Americans.

The incalculable damage done to the American populace from the drugs transported across the border has been evident for years. “The Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations seized a total of 541,000 pounds of illicit drug substances along the southern border, both at and between POEs (points of entry) in Fiscal Year 2023, “ the National Immigration Forum reported.

RELATED: Trump Greenlights Military Force To Take Down Latin American Drug Cartels

On August 1, the Department of Justice announced that six men had been sentenced to federal prison terms for their roles in purchasing high-caliber firearms in the United States for resale to Mexican drug cartels. “The trafficked firearms included high-caliber, armor-piercing, and anti-material weapons. For example, approximately 11 of the firearms trafficked by this organization included Barrett .50 caliber rifles, which can expel a very accurate, heavy, and fast-moving projectile that defeats all individually worn body armor, can penetrate and disable vehicles, aircraft, boats, and can even defeat some types of protection provided by armored vehicles,” the DOJ noted. “The organization also trafficked approximately 16 FN M249S rifles, which are sold in the United States as a semi-automatic weapon but are easily converted into a machine gun.”

The cartels reportedly possess FGM 148 Javelin infrared-guided missile launchers. “Javelin automatically guides itself to the target after launch, allowing the gunner to take cover and avoid counterfire. Soldiers or Marines can reposition immediately after firing, or reload to engage another threat,”  Lockheed Martin explains.

“Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security’s counter-drone program, this week told a Senate panel that more than 300 Mexican drones typically come within 500 meters of the U.S. border each day,” NewsNation reported in late July.

In 2023, The Pacific Council Magazine reported:

The flood of .50-caliber rifles and assault weapons from the U.S. has enabled drug cartels to outgun Mexico’s security forces and expand their influence and activities. That is because these weapons have characteristics and capabilities that make them particularly lethal:  The bullets fired by .50-caliber rifles are powerful enough to punch through concrete walls, bulletproof vests, and armored vehicles such as tanks. In 2016, cartel members used a .50-caliber rifle to down a Mexican state police helicopter, killing the pilot and four others. 

There have been reports as far back as 2015 that say the cartels have used rocket-powered grenades.

President Donald Trump quietly signed a directive ordering the Pentagon to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels that the administration has labeled as terrorist organizations, The New York Times reported Friday morning.

The order includes an official basis for the United States military to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, and military officials have already begun drafting plans for going after certain groups, the Times reported, citing “people familiar with the conversations.” It was not immediately clear which specific gangs or drug cartels Trump’s new directive greenlights military operations against.

Under Trump, the United States has designated seven drug cartels and two international criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations: Tren de Aragua (TdA), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (CDN), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), Cártel de Golfo (CDG), and Cárteles Unidos (CU). The Trump administration recently added the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles to its list, saying that it is operated by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking government officials, according to the Times. On Thursday, the United States upped the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, pointing to his ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.

“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Most of the cartels designated by the Trump administration as terrorist organizations operate in Mexico, while TdA’s roots are in Venezuela, and MS-13 originated in Los Angeles as a Salvadoran street gang. Both TdA and MS-13 also have cells operating in Central America, according to the State Department.

Trump’s order is among the most significant steps he has taken to fulfill his promise to “wage war” on cartels that have trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the United States, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. In May, President Trump said he offered Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a deal that would send U.S. troops into Mexico to fight drug cartels.

“They are horrible people that have been killing people left and right. They’ve made a fortune on selling drugs and destroying our people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it.”

Sheinbaum rejected Trump’s proposal, saying, “Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.”

“We will never accept the presence of the United States military in our territory,” she added.