President Donald Trump asserted that ground attacks against drug cartels could occur “anywhere,” including Mexico, Central America, and South America, during an exclusive interview with the New York Post in the Oval Office.
“We know their routes. We know everything about them. We know their homes. We know everything about them. We’re going to attack the cartels,” the president declared.
When asked if such attacks could occur anywhere, including in Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, the president replied, “It could be anywhere.”
The U.S. Department of Justice has alleged, without presenting evidence, that most of the foreign-produced illicit drugs available in the United States are smuggled overland across the borders with Mexico and, to a much lesser extent, with Canada.
The White House occupant boasted of having seized 97 percent of the drugs entering the country by sea as a result of his military offensive against alleged drug-running boats in the Pacific and the Caribbean, and stressed that he wants to see the same “success on land.”
The threat comes in a context where the Trump administration has pressured the Mexican government to allow the entry of U.S. forces into its territory with the aim of “helping to curb drug trafficking.”
Earlier this month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected speculation that Trump might launch military attacks in her country against the cartels.
“I don’t believe in an invasion; I don’t even think it’s something they’re taking very seriously,” Sheinbaum declared. “On several occasions, (Trump) has insisted on allowing the entry of the U.S. military into Mexico. We have categorically refused, first because we defend our sovereignty and second because it is not necessary.”
Source: jornada
