Trump asks Americas to crush drug cartels
New York, Sep 23 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) President Donald Trump has urged countries across the Western Hemisphere to designate narcoterrorist groups as common threats and impose sweeping sanctions on organisations already listed by the United States as foreign terrorist entities.
In his address to the Shield of the Americas event, Trump described drug cartels as the most serious threat facing the region. He promised American support for governments seeking to dismantle their networks.
“Today, I’m asking all nations in the Shield of the Americas to formally designate narcoterrorists as common threats to stability and apply crushing sanctions against all 24 US designated foreign terrorist organizations,” Trump said.
He also called for action against all drug trafficking organisations operating across national borders.
“For years, cartels have waged war on the people of this hemisphere. Now we’re waging war on them,” Trump said. “The job of every leader in this room is, above all, to protect the physical safety of your people.”
The President described the cartels as “violent terrorists” and “paramilitary forces in control of physical territory”. He said regional governments would have the backing of the United States as they confronted them.
“You let us know and we take them out, or you take them out yourself. I like that even better. But if you can’t, we’ll do it for you,” he said.
Trump thanked participating nations for joining the Department of War’s America Counter Cartel Coalition. He said the Shield of the Americas represented an unprecedented alliance on economic and national security.
“This is the largest and most powerful alliance for economic and national security ever to convene in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said.
He claimed the amount of fentanyl reaching the United States by sea had fallen sharply.
“You probably noticed that the drugs, the fentanyl being delivered by sea, by ocean and sea, it’s down 97 percent coming into the United States,” he said.
Trump also urged participating countries to prevent hostile foreign powers from gaining control of the region’s natural resources and strategic infrastructure. He identified energy pipelines, rare earth elements and agricultural trade corridors as areas that required protection.
“The resources of the Americas must always belong to the people of the Americas,” he said. “The United States is eager to work with you to achieve this goal and to strengthen all of our nations.”
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori said her country was joining the initiative with “great determination and great enthusiasm”. She cited Peru’s experience in confronting the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA.
“But right now, we have a different type of problem. This crime that we are facing doesn’t respect frontiers,” Fujimori said. “We applaud your leadership and your initiative, President Trump.”
Trump said regional governments would need to act firmly against organised crime.
“And the only way you’re going to stop the crime is through toughness, you have to be very tough,” he said. “You won’t even like it but you’re going to have to be — it’s going to stop it very quickly.”
The Shield of the Americas brings together governments seeking closer cooperation with Washington on organised crime, migration, economic security and foreign interference. Trump said instability caused by cartel violence and uncontrolled migration had helped drive political change across the region.
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