A week after the US and Israeli attack on Iran, President Donald Trump temporarily shifted his focus from the Middle East to Latin America, and more specifically, the drug cartels operating in the region.
He did so at the “Shield of the Americas” summit, which he convened and which was attended by twelve Latin American presidents aligned with the US president.
Attendees included the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei; El Salvador, Nayib Bukele; Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; and the president-elect of Chile, José Antonio Kast.
“This historic coalition of nations will work together to advance strategies that put an end to foreign interference in our hemisphere, to criminal and narco-terrorist gangs and cartels, and to illegal and mass immigration,” the State Department reported.
The agenda, which was designed to “promote freedom, security, and prosperity” in the region, focused on the creation of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.
This is a military agreement that seeks to eradicate cartels in the Western Hemisphere. “The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries. We have to use our military. You have to use your military,” Trump stated.
The proclamation, signed by the US president during the Miami summit, details that it is “a commitment by military leaders and representatives of 17 countries that demonstrates the region is ready to employ hard power to defeat these threats to our security and civilization.”
The coalition notably lacks Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, countries that have been fighting drug trafficking for decades.
