The Trump administration is moving to harden its stance against drug cartels and narco-terrorists, sending a sharp message about how the United States intends to defend its homeland. In his first interview since taking office, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth laid out the strategy, vowing that attempts to harm Americans will no longer be tolerated.
“President Trump’s locking the border down… now we go on offense to make sure these cartels can’t be funded, that they can’t sustain what they’re doing,” Hegseth told Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy. His words marked a significant escalation in rhetoric, signaling that the administration intends to go beyond border security to actively disrupt the operations of international criminal groups.
Hegseth stressed that his role is not only about defense, but also about precision strikes that directly protect the American people. He described his mission as one focused on preventing what he called the “poisoning” of U.S. citizens, pointing to the devastating impact of fentanyl and other drugs flooding across the border.
“This doesn’t mean we’re fighting every cartel everywhere, endlessly,” he explained. “We’re not trading one endless fight for another endless fight. It’s the precise application of American power to send very clear signals that narco-terrorism will not be tolerated in our hemisphere.” He added that the era of handling drug traffickers with “kid gloves” is over.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that cartels trafficking drugs toward the United States will face “lethal consequences.” He said the Trump administration’s designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations gives the Pentagon authority to act against them as imminent… pic.twitter.com/CL9sBo1gki
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 4, 2025
The timing of his remarks follows a series of U.S. operations targeting suspected traffickers. Earlier this month, officials reported a lethal strike on a Venezuelan drug boat that allegedly carried members of Tren de Aragua, a notorious gang with ties to trafficking and organized crime. Eleven people were killed in the incident, though Venezuelan officials have disputed the footage released by the Pentagon.
A message to our warfighters from the Secretary of War. pic.twitter.com/UVbsvAuNmR
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) September 8, 2025
Just days later, the U.S. Coast Guard sank another suspected drug vessel and arrested seven alleged smugglers, according to video shared by the Department of Homeland Security. These back-to-back actions appear to highlight the administration’s willingness to deploy lethal force at sea as part of its broader counter-narcotics campaign.
Campos-Duffy previewed her full interview with Hegseth on “Fox & Friends” after visiting him at Joint Base Andrews in Washington, D.C. She later traveled with him aboard the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship stationed near Puerto Rico, where he is overseeing regional operations.
When asked about the recent rebrand from the Department of Defense back to the Department of War, Hegseth defended the change as more than symbolic. “Words matter, titles matter,” he said. “The War Department was founded by George Washington in 1789. We won World War I and World War II with a War Department. We want a warrior ethos.”
For Hegseth, the name reflects a return to first principles. He cited the motto of his first platoon: Those who long for peace must prepare for war. “It’s because we want peace, it’s because we seek peace, it’s because the American people deserve peace,” he said.
The administration’s sharper tone, paired with visible military actions, is raising questions about what comes next. With the border locked down and naval forces engaged in the Caribbean, the White House is clearly betting that projecting strength abroad is the surest way to secure peace at home.
