President Donald Trump has declared an "armed conflict" against cartels carrying drugs into the U.S. and has unleashed a series of strikes on drug boats. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social; Evan Vucci/AP Photo; Aaron Favila/AP Photo)
"Whenever I see that, I say to myself, I just saved 25,000 lives," he added.
Trump said that following these strikes, "there are very few boats traveling on the water, so now they'll come in by land to a lesser extent."
"And they will be hit on land also," he said.
Pressed on whether he has legal authority to unleash strikes on drug smugglers on U.S. territory, Trump answered confidently, "Yes, we do."
TRUMP ADMIN ON PACE TO SHATTER DEPORTATION RECORD BY END OF FIRST YEAR: 'JUST THE BEGINNING'
The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant small boat crew transfers illicit drugs seized from a go-fast style vessel back to the cutter in the Caribbean Sea, Aug. 15, 2025. (Coast Guard )
"Something very serious is going to happen. The equivalent of what's happening by sea. And we're going to Congress just to tell them what we're doing, just to keep them informed. But we have to do it for national security. We have to do it to save lives."
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that at Trump’s direction, the military carried out its first kinetic strike on "narco-terrorists" in the Eastern Pacific. This was the eighth such strike in recent weeks.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-reveals-how-us-military-going-to-crack-down-drug-smugglers-on-land