White House Eyes Troops, Drones in Mexico

Multiple U.S. outlets report the Trump administration is planning a potential deployment of U.S. troops and drones into Mexico to strike drug labs and cartel leaders, with early-stage training already underway. Officials say personnel would largely come from Joint Special Operations Command and include CIA officers operating under Title 50 covert-authority rules; some drones would require on-the-ground operators for precision, but no final decision or imminent deployment has been announced. The administration has designated several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and framed the campaign as an "armed conflict," and the White House describes the effort as an "all-of-government" push combining military planning, intelligence and sanctions to dismantle transnational trafficking networks. Sources say operations would be kept secret and the government is still debating the mission’s scale and whether to coordinate with Mexico, whose president has publicly rejected a U.S. military takeover.