Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sent a direct message to drug cartels from Guantanamo Bay on Wednesday evening during an appearance on Fox News, stating that “nothing” is “off the table” when it comes to keeping Americans safe.
As part of President Donald Trump’s plan to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportations, the president ordered his administration in January to use Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as a facility to hold illegal migrants. With the shutdown of the U.S. southern border and the arrests of “criminal aliens,” including rapists and murderers, Trump also designated major Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in some of his first executive orders.
On “The Ingraham Angle” Fox host Laura Ingraham asked Hegseth if he had a message for the cartels, given reports that Trump’s border lockdown is disrupting their operations in the U.S.
“My message has been from the beginning. We’re taking nothing off the table. Nothing. We will do whatever it takes to secure the homeland, to maintain our sovereignty, and protect the American people,” Hegseth said.
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Before speaking with Hegseth, Ingraham was shown how illegal migrants are handled on the base as a flight of newcomers arrived. The migrants were seen being escorted off the plane by officials, shackled, and directed to a bus that would take them to their processing area.
“Does that mean you’re ruling out potential strikes inside of Mexico on fentanyl labs?” Ingraham asked. “We know they exist. We know where they exist.”
“No, I don’t think I ruled anything out. Anything’s on the table. The commander-in-chief, ultimately, with my consultation and with the chairman and others, will make those determinations. But nothing’s off the table. Our sovereignty will be defended,” Hegseth said.
Border czar Tom Homan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have been leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country. However, since the border lockdown, residents in sanctuary cities have attempted to push back against the raids.
In early February, both Homan and Noem suggested there was a leak within the FBI after internal information about two separate raids was released. Following their public warnings about potential internal leaks, Noem announced on Monday that the DHS had caught some of the “leakers.” However, she has yet to specify how many were caught or which agency they belong to.
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