President Trump has deployed military might to fight drug cartels, blowing up dozens of alleged smugglers at sea and helping Ecuador bomb an apparent criminal training camps.
In recent days he announced the formation of a “brand-new military coalition” of mostly right-wing governments from across the Americas that, he said, are united in “a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks.”
“We need your help,” he told regional leaders gathered Saturday at his golf club outside Miami. “Just tell us where they are.”
On Monday, Mexico’s leader suggested Washington should focus on other steps: Containing the voracious American appetite for illicit drugs, and combating illegal arms trafficking.
“If the flow of illegal weapons from the United States into Mexico were stopped, these groups wouldn’t have access to this type of high-powered weaponry to carry out their criminal activities,” President Claudia Sheinabum said at her daily news conference, citing a statistic from the U.S. Department of Justice that 75% of guns used by criminal groups in Mexico were smuggled from the United States.
Sheinbaum — whose stated strategy has been to keep a “cool head” in the face of Trump’s repeated verbal broadsides — was responding to a question about Trump’s latest threats to deploy military assets against cartels in her country. Trump made the threat while speaking at a meeting of the newly inaugurated “Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.”
Not invited were the left-wing presidents of Latin America’s three most populous nations, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
During his speech, Trump took special aim at Sheinbaum, mocking the Mexican president’s steadfast refusal of direct U.S. military assistance, which she says would violate Mexico’s sovereignty.
Trump first praised Sheinbaum — “She’s got a beautiful voice, a beautiful woman” — but then adopted a falsetto tone to mimic her: “President. President. President,” he said. “No. No. No. Please president.”
