‘Military Coalition’ in Latin America Against Drug Cartels was Announced
Panama President Mulino shakes hands with US President Donald Trump alongside Latin American leaders at the summit dubbed the Shield of the Americas.
US President Donald Trump announced a new “military coalition” in Latin America against drug cartels on Saturday, during the ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit in Miami with right-wing leaders from the region, whom he said he needs their “help”. The president made this announcement during the summit during the meeting with 12 right-wing Latin American leaders, to which countries with progressive governments such as Mexico, Brazil or Colombia were not invited. “On this historic day, we gather to announce a new military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels that plague our region,” the president declared during a speech before signing a decree to formalize this new coalition. The essence of the agreement, Trump said, is “the commitment to use lethal military force to destroy” the cartels.
Latin American Presidents at the Summit Organized by President Donald Trump (center of the image) with Panama President Mulino behind to the Left next to Argentina’s President Javier Milei
“Once and for all, we will get rid of them. We need your help. You just have to tell us where they are,” the president said. The Republican promised to attack drug trafficking networks even “more intensely” than the campaign against alleged drug-laden boats in the Caribbean during the weeks leading up to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump (center) displays a document alongside Latin American leaders at the summit dubbed the Shield of the Americas including Panama President Mulino behind to the right.
In the same speech, the president stated that Mexico is the “epicenter of cartel violence” and mocked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who was not invited to the summit because, he said, she has rejected US aid to combat them. The summit attendees are the leaders of Argentina, Javier Milei; Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz; Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chávez; the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; El Salvador, Nayib Bukele; Guyana, Irfaan Ali; Honduras, Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura; Panama, José Raúl Mulino; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; and Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Also the president-elect of Chile, José Antonio Kast, who will take office next Wednesday.
