President Donald Trump on Thursday led a White House meeting centered on his administration’s critical work to dismantle and eliminate the threat of dangerous drug cartels.
“We’re here today to discuss a sweeping, unprecedented, and historically successful operation that my administration has carried out…to arrest, prosecute, and permanently remove members of foreign drug cartels from American soil,” he said.
The president was joined by several key members of his staff who have played integral roles in cracking down on cartel activity, including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
The president noted that, upon taking office, he signed an executive order officially designating the drug cartels – organizations that include violent groups such as Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and the Sinaloa – as terrorist organizations.
“It was my honor to do so,” President Trump said.
He created a critical task force comprised of multiple agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Department of War, and the Department of Homeland Security, along with state and local agencies, to coordinate efforts to eliminate these foreign terrorist organizations from American soil.
President Trump said that in “a matter of a week, the task force made the largest number of arrests of cartel leaders, operatives, and gang members in American history; more than 3,000 and counting.”
He said these arrests were in addition to the more than 120,000 criminals arrested by his administration’s law enforcement agencies since January 20, 2025.
“Under the Trump administration, we are finally treating the cartels as the core national security threat that they are,” the president stated. “…We are waging war on them like they’ve never seen before.”
He said his administration’s goal was not to mitigate the threat, but “eliminate” it.
“We won’t stop until the threat has been fully and completely eliminated,” he vowed.
Other cabinet members were also invited to give remarks. Comments from Secretary Noem and Secretary Hegseth were especially notable.
“Fentanyl has been cut down by 50 percent, coming into our country,” she said.
Secretary Hegseth said that the Department of War was happy to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with other federal agencies in the fight to protect the homeland from cartel-related threats.
“We will treat you like we have treated Al Qaeda,” he warned cartels. “We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.”
He added, “We’re going to defeat and destroy these terrorist organizations to defend the homeland…we think it’s a very core mission of the Department of War and we’re proud to be here.”
Director Gabbard further praised President Trump’s leadership on this issue. He highlighted a new “interagency fusion cell” between the intelligence community and law enforcement operations that have led to the arrest of especially horrific and violent cartel leaders like “El Pato” (Sinaloa cartel boss), and “La Diabla” (cartel infant trafficker).
Gabbard said that she and her agency counterparts were working hard to bring such perpetrators to justice, despite forgoing their paychecks due to the ongoing government shutdown.
“…[We are] eager to get after this…they believe in the leadership and the mission,” she said.
