The Central Intelligence Agency is preparing to unleash a powerful new initiative aimed squarely at the international cartels flooding America with deadly drugs, marking a major shift in U.S. counterterror strategy under President Trump.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis announced the launch of the Americas Counternarcotics Mission Center. This new division will merge personnel focused on counternarcotics with experts on Latin America—creating what Ellis calls a “finely tuned machine” to dismantle cartel networks abroad.

“The drug trafficker is a savvy, sophisticated adversary,” Ellis said. “We’re looking further upstream to identify those networks beyond our borders and dismantle them.”

This isn’t just a bureaucratic reshuffle. It’s a full-blown pivot of U.S. intelligence firepower. For two decades, the CIA focused heavily on radical Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and South Asia. Now, that same counterterrorism machinery is being retooled and redirected south—to take on the cartels that the Trump administration has formally designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

Ellis’s first official act as deputy director underscores the shift: a visit to the southern border near San Diego, where he met with FBI, DHS, and Border Patrol personnel. The goal? Full-spectrum coordination between federal agencies to crush cartel operations across the hemisphere.

“It’s a whole of government effort,” Ellis confirmed.

The CIA’s refocus on Latin America represents a long-overdue correction. Ellis noted how neglected the region has been—even pointing out that at CIA headquarters, staff previously had to walk through a kitchen to reach the counternarcotics conference room.

That’s now changing, and fast. Some CIA linguists are even preparing to transition from Arabic to Spanish.

While much of the CIA’s work will remain classified, Ellis assured the public that results will be clear—especially in the form of fewer fentanyl-related deaths and fewer drugs hitting American streets. And the early signs of success are already showing: illegal border crossings have dropped sharply since Trump took office.

“It’s night and day from before January 20,” Ellis said, highlighting the contrast between the Trump and Biden eras of border policy.

The CIA plans to strike at every link in the cartel chain—from labs and smugglers to chemical suppliers overseas. Key to the operation will be partnerships with regional governments, including Mexico. “The Mexican government doesn’t want cartels operating in their country,” Ellis emphasized.

This shift is not only about drugs—it’s about national security. The Biden administration treated the border crisis as a law enforcement matter. Under Trump, it’s being handled as what it is: a war against violent foreign networks poisoning American communities.

And this time, America is taking the gloves off. The cartels are now in the CIA’s crosshairs.