Trump's counterterrorism strategy makes targeting drug cartels the top priority

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. World Trump's counterterrorism strategy makes targeting drug cartels the top priority May 7, 20262:41 AM ET By The Associated Press Sebastian Gorka listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, April 23, 2025, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed off on a new U. counterterrorism strategy that sets eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as the administration's highest priority, the White House announced Wednesday.

strikes on alleged drug boats have done little to stop the flow of illegal drugs The document was released months after his administration published an updated national security strategy that called for the hemisphere to be the top U. "We will not let cartels, Jihadists, or the governments who support them plot against our citizens with impunity. Terrorists of any kind will not be allowed to find safe harbor here at home or attack us from abroad," Trump wrote in the 16-page document.

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Trump's administration has moved aggressively to reshape the region with the ouster of Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's president, dozens of U. military strikes on alleged drug boats operated by cartels and new pressure on the communist government of Cuba. Sponsor Message Sebastian Gorka, the White House counterterrorism czar who spearheaded the new strategy, said the shift in priorities acknowledges some simple math: Far more Americans have been killed by cartels pushing illicit drugs into U.

communities than American service members lost in conflicts around the globe since World War II, he said. "Whether it is strangling their illicit funds, whether it is tracking their drug boats, we will not permit them to kill Americans on a massive scale," Gorka said in a telephone call with reporters to announce the strategy. It is the latest example of the administration's efforts to demonstrate it remains committed to sharpening U.

foreign policy focus on the Western Hemisphere even while dealing with worldwide crises. Law Families of killed men file first U. federal lawsuit over drug boat strikes The Republican administration's campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed at least 191 people in total.

At the same time, Trump has sought to press regional leaders to work more closely with the U. to target cartels and take military action themselves against drug traffickers and transnational gangs that he says pose an "unacceptable threat" to the hemisphere's national security.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.