U.S. President Donald J. Trump has instructed the Pentagon to develop military options for targeting several Latin American drug cartels that were designated as foreign terrorist organizations earlier this year, a senior U.S. official told the *Wall Street Journal*.

The proposals under consideration reportedly center on special forces missions, intelligence sharing, and precision strikes, with any operations to be carried out in coordination with Mexico and other partners in Central and South America.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Trump urged Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during an April phone call to permit greater U.S. military involvement in combating Mexico’s drug cartels. U.S. and Mexican officials are now finalizing an agreement that would include intelligence cooperation and joint enforcement actions. Sheinbaum, who says she expects the deal to be signed soon, has stressed that “respecting our territory” is a non-negotiable condition in working with the United States.