Trump is eager to breach Mexico’s sovereignty to attack cartels, officials say — just don’t call it an invasion

A new directive signed last week by President Donald Trump gives the Pentagon authorization to use military force against Latin American drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations, according to administration sources.

A U.S. official familiar with the matter confirmed to Rolling Stone certain details regarding the Trump-signed directive, which was first reported by The New York Times. Other knowledgeable sources, working in or close to this iteration of the Trump White House, say that unless Mexico gives Trump what he wants, this administration is serious about attacking its neighbor to the south. And according to administration officials and others familiar with the Trump administration preparations, it’s not a bluff: This American president wants to violently breach Mexico’s sovereignty — if and when he feels like it. He, after all, effectively campaigned on doing so during his 2024 bid.

Just don’t call any of this a plan for an invasion, U.S. government officials implore.

Speaking about the new directive, a senior administration official says, “It’s not a negotiating tactic. It’s not Art of the Deal. The president has been clear that a strike … is coming unless we see some big, major changes.”

  • DancingBear@midwest.social
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    2 小时前

    Wild how true the old trope ‘every accusation is a confession’ holds here, the projection is real.

    Trump was arguing in court that we are already being ‘invaded’ by Mexican immigrants, trying to use this as reasoning to justify use of military at the border, among other things like…. Oh I dunno, disregarding constitutional rights of habeus corpus.

  • Jas@lemmy.zip
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    2 小时前

    Man this is wild… if the U.S. really goes through with this, it’s gonna strain things with Mexico in a way we haven’t seen before. Feels like they’re walking a thin line and calling it everything except an invasion doesn’t change what it is. Definitely something to keep an eye on

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    8 小时前

    He wants a Nobel Peace Prize so badly you can smell the desperation, but Stephen “PeeWee Himmler” Miller wants to murder millions of people so he doesn’t feel like a weak little Jew with a tiny dick, so he’s whispering in HitlerPig’s ear like Wormtongue, and encouraging war.

  • Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world
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    15 小时前

    I’ll believe it when I see it. Everything right now is just a giant distraction from The You Know What PDF Files

  • littlebigendian@lemmy.zip
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    18 小时前

    My friends in Canada, I hope you know he is coming to take your land as well. This is a runaway train & other counties will have to intervene

    • Azal@pawb.social
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      17 小时前

      Speaking as someone who’s equidistant between them, I’m hoping Canada and Mexico are working hard on talks behind the US’s back on a mutual defense pact, preferably with the EU. The US is WAY too big to allow to take countries while telling others “It’ll be fine, we won’t bother you.” like Germany did in its last invasion tour.

      • SabinStargem@lemmy.today
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        13 小时前

        If there is a mutual defense pact, I hope that there is also an agreement to help the good guys in a 2nd American Civil War. Having trade, transport, and military cooperation would go a long way towards making this shitshow end sooner.

        I will also make a prediction: Iran and other Middle East nations that have been attacked by America would have agreements with Mexico and Canada to be granted passage and support for operating within the US. It is pretty much Behind the Bastard’s universal theory of “fuck that guy.”.

        • Azal@pawb.social
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          3 小时前

          If there is a mutual defense pact, I hope that there is also an agreement to help the good guys in a 2nd American Civil War

          I mean… that ABSOLUTELY would have to happen. Going up against the US in its back yard in a traditional war would be absolutely blitheringly stupid. The US, one thing everyone can agree on has put so much money in its military that China is the only superpower that really has a chance to throw its whole military might against the whole of the US military might and not be crushed. The US has trouble with wars because we don’t commit wholly to a war, and keep our military spread all over the world. If the mutual defense pact comes up and you have two neighboring countries at the north and south at war, the US will commit fully.

          But the US is, for all its pride that’s how independence was gained, terrible at asymmetric warfare. It’s why Afghanistan would be considered a failure, is traditional warfare tactics was not what it took to take out the leadership there, and honestly we made things worse. So basically, if there is a mutual defense pact between those two and it doesn’t include help get a civil war going and assist it any way possible, I would think then the pact would be useless.

          • Knoxvomica@lemmy.ca
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            1 小时前

            I think its almost universally accepted that the US would crush Canada in a traditional land war, but the long term occupation would destroy the US. Its one thing to invade a distant land across the world with people who look and speaking nothing like you. Its a different story to do it in your own backyard with people who look, talk and think like you and are thorough embedded in your society.

  • rozodru@lemmy.world
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    23 小时前

    ok as a naive Canadian can I just ask…What’s the point of saying “Epstein list” over and over?

    I know he’s on it, you know he’s on it, everyone knows he’s on it so if/when it does come to light that he is INFACT on it and it’s proven in black and white…then what? he gets removed from office? someone starts an impeachment process that goes no where? cause all the other motions for impeachment have worked out well. Or he and his administration and the rest of the GOP simply ignore it and continue on their fascist path.

    I just don’t understand it. Based on what I’ve seen and read nothing would happen.

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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      20 小时前

      MAGA has been largely driven by the idea of globalist pedophilic sex trafficking rings. They were literally shooting up a pizza parlor because it supposedly ran child rape in its basement - when the place didn’t even have a basement. They believe there’s a video of Hillary Clinton ripping a child’s face off to get high on “adenochrome.”

      And the reality is that there was a high level sex trafficking ring for the wealthy and powerful, that was covered up by various high level interests - but that their “savior” figure who was supposed to expose it was always in on it.

      The hope is that MAGA idiots will see this and turn on him. But the reality is they won’t. It’s turned into a religion. Alex Jones seemed like he was going to break back when they first started denying the files exist, but he’s fully back on the Trump train.

      It’s a hope that this will finally be the straw that breaks the camels back - that they will realize that their Christ has always been an Antichrist, coming from a misguided belief that these people are capable of seeing reason.

    • Azal@pawb.social
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      17 小时前

      A lot of people are talking on the defaults, but why I’m on the train about the Epstein list is it’s the only thing that I’ve actually seen rattle the MAGAt cult, and that’s having to interact with the idiots at work and the like.

      Trump ran on releasing it, then when he got in Pam Bondi said it was on her desk ready to be released, then suddenly “what list?” then told to pay no attention to the list.

      These people are awful and willing to support a dictator, but apparently they draw the line at supporting someone diddling kids. So keeping the Epstein list in the news cycle gives one of the only two places I’ve seen Trump lose control over his cult, the only other one was when he suggested they take the vaccine early on, and he pivoted when the booing started. This one he can’t pivot out of.

      So I’ll do the one that might keep a few potential brownshirts from joining, instead of trying to point out he’s an authoritarian fascist which they’ll just call me a commie and then ask him to step on their neck harder.

    • JustARaccoon@lemmy.world
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      22 小时前

      It’s hope that MAGA will turn on him once they see the list, because him not releasing them is actually frustrating quite a few of them who voted with this as their primary issue when trump was using it as a platform.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        22 小时前

        Never has the world witnessed such a wave of the stupidest people suddenly changing their minds because of a new piece of evidence. Oh, it would be amazing!

        My instinct is to say I’m not holding my breath. But in this case, since it’s not just the ordinary people involved but some of the spreaders of propaganda, I can at least imagine a plausible outcome where this one sticks. And by “plausible” I mean in the sense of a meme of Dr Strange holding up one finger towards Jim Carrey who replies “so you’re saying there’s a chance.”

        • JustARaccoon@lemmy.world
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          8 小时前

          You could’ve said the same thing before you had MAGA people calling trump out on not releasing the files on his own Truth social platform. It’s a sticking point for many of them

        • meep_launcher@sh.itjust.works
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          20 小时前

          It’s like when Jordan Klepper was interviewing Trump supporters. There was one interview where he was talking to a woman who insisted Trump was innocent of intimidating witnesses, and when he pulled solid logic to show he was guilty, she responded “I don’t care”.

      • Naxxxsfw@lemmynsfw.com
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        20 小时前

        Nah it’s not hope for maga to wake up it’s to ensure maga can’t easily run away from it and pretend he’s not on the list and instead the oem that will bring all the pedos to justice lol

    • Southrydge Freedom@lemdro.id
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      22 小时前

      Basically my same thoughts as an American myself. But the MAGA crowd is honestly tiring and annoying, I try to be in the middle about everything but MAGA is a cult, a very misinformed and arrogant one. I would love to see things go back to pre-MAGA. It’s made this country more divided than ever (not that it wasn’t before, but it was tolerable). I think the era of social media and it’s algorithms has made both sides be so hostile towards each other, there’s a great documentary explaining why, called The Social Dilemma.

    • meep_launcher@sh.itjust.works
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      20 小时前

      I know, it’s been so obvious to me that Epstein was a distraction, and the stuff on top of that was a distraction from the distraction.

      Nothing will come of the Epstein list just like nothing came from the Panama papers, and ultimately Trump will die one day, but the damage he’s done to our institutions will stay. Him being a pedophile won’t change any of that.

      Basically I put news in 2 categories:

      1. Actual impactful policy
      2. Keeping up with the Kardashians

      Epstein is category 2 for all I’m concerned. Nothing will happen to Trump. At worst he doesn’t serve a 3rd term, which is fine, but his base isn’t going to just embrace democracy after this.

  • SabinStargem@lemmy.today
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    23 小时前

    I think that Mexico’s government and the cartels might actually agree to set aside their differences. Trump and his goons would send all Mexicans to death camps, regardless of whether they are actual criminals.

    • Zink@programming.dev
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      22 小时前

      God damn, through his psycho filter Mexico probably just looks like trillions of dollars of tropical beach front property that needs to be cleared of the natives and any other dangerous wildlife.

  • lack@lemmy.world
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    1 天前

    Wait, are you trying to tell me that this is some sort of diversion by Donald Trump, the convicted rapist and close friend of Jeffrey Epstein? That Donald Trump? The one who bought a teenage beauty pageant and constantly stormed in back stage to peep kids? The one who, in a complete 180 pivot from their campaigning, is moving heaven and earth to divert attention away from the Epstein files? I… I need a minute to process all this.

  • Event_Horizon@lemmy.world
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    2 天前

    I’m going to paste here a comment I made from 10 months ago

    Ya know I realise this is complete conspiracy theory.

    However, I’m still willing to give a 2-5% chance that if Trump gets back into power, within the last 12-18 months of his presidency he’ll declare a special operation into North Mexico to ‘secure the border’, ‘stop the illegal immigrants’ and ‘remove the drug cartels’.

    Then he’ll claim it’s too dangerous to hold the election, or not appropriate, or whatever excuse because of the special operation. And then he’ll postpone the election with the approval of the SC as a presidential duty and therefore not illegal.

    And I know this is insane but every time I ask myself “would trump attempt something like this?” The answer is always “yes”