Most Americans feel the risks of military action against drug cartels outweigh the benefits
Washington DC, November 25, 2025 – Americans take a cautious stance toward the use of U.S. military force as part of efforts to combat drug cartels in Latin America. More than half (55%) say the risks of U.S. military action against drug cartels in other countries outweigh the benefits, compared to 38% who say that the benefits outweigh the risks.
Consistent with these overall views, the poll finds limited support for a range of specific actions the U.S. military could take. For example, just 31% support using drones or airstrikes to combat drug cartels in Mexico without the permission of the Mexican government. Across items tested, many Americans say they’re not sure about their views, underscoring the developing nature of public opinion on this topic.
The poll also includes ratings of the Republican and Democratic parties, a year ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
This Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted November 7-12, 2025, among 1,200 Americans.
About the Study
This poll was conducted November 7-12, 2025, by Ipsos on behalf of Reuters, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,200 general population adults aged 18 or older.
The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, household income, 2024 vote choice and political party identification. Political party identification benchmarks are from the 2025 NPORS annual survey. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2025 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- Political Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)
- 2024 Vote Choice (Trump, Harris, Another candidate, Did not vote)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.04. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
Annaleise Azevedo Lohr
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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