United States President Donald Trump has pledged to use military force against drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere during a meeting of the Shield of the Americas coalition in New York City. During the meeting with leaders and foreign ministers from the coalition, Trump urged member countries to join the US in targeting 24 criminal organizations, which he referred to as the "ISIS of the Western Hemisphere." He requested that all nations in the coalition formally designate narco-terrorists as common threats to stability and impose sanctions against these groups.
The coalition's 15 governments later issued a joint statement indicating their intention to impose asset freezes and visa restrictions on members and supporters of the targeted groups and to pursue criminal charges against them. The list includes Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Tren de Aragua, as well as major Mexican cartels, Colombian armed groups like the National Liberation Army, and Brazil's Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho groups.
Al Jazeera's Alessandro Rampietti reported from Bogota, Colombia, noting that the statement is largely symbolic at this stage, as each country must follow its own legal procedures to implement the sanctions. In Colombia, for example, a law must be passed in Congress to proceed.
The coalition includes governments aligned with Trump, such as Argentina, Ecuador, and El Salvador. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the meeting, praised the emergence of leaders committed to addressing transnational terrorism. This meeting represents the administration's ongoing effort to encourage a more aggressive approach to drug trafficking in the region.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has designated cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and ordered strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which US officials claim were transporting narcotics. These strikes have reportedly resulted in over 223 deaths, with UN experts suggesting they may violate international law.
The Trump administration's National Security Strategy outlines plans for a revised Monroe Doctrine, asserting US primacy in the hemisphere. Trump has also made controversial statements regarding the Panama Canal and Greenland. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed concerns about this approach in his UN speech, warning against "renewed hegemonic temptations" in Latin America and the Caribbean.