President Donald Trump said his administration has sharply reduced the flow of illegal drugs into the United States through maritime routes and is preparing to intensify enforcement efforts along land corridors, while placing blame on drug cartels he said are operating with control over Mexico.
BREAKING: President Trump WARNS cartel-controlled Mexican President Sheinbaum
“She’s scared of the cartels.”
“We’re gonna have to do something. WE’D LOVE Mexico to do it!”
Trump is playing NO games!
pic.twitter.com/sBGmtY46DI [1]
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 5, 2026 [2]
Trump made the remarks while discussing border security and drug enforcement, saying his administration has already achieved major gains by targeting water-based smuggling operations.
“We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land,” Trump said.
Trump said drug cartels are responsible for widespread violence and instability, both in Mexico and in the United States, asserting that criminal organizations exert control over large parts of Mexico.
“With regard to the cartels, the cartels are running Mexico,” Trump said.
“It’s very, very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country, but the cartels are running, and they’re killing 250-300,000 people in our country every single year, the drugs, it’s horrible.”
Trump said drug-related deaths have had devastating effects on American families, describing the toll in terms of lives lost across generations.
“It’s devastating. Families generally lose a child or a parent,” Trump said.
“I mean, parents are dying too with drugs.”
