U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 7th (local time) that the United States and Latin American countries would launch an alliance to mount a joint response by deploying military force against criminal cartels in the Americas.
At the "Shield of the Americas" event held that day at the Doral resort in Miami, Florida, with leaders of Latin American countries in attendance, President Trump said, "Transnational gangs are seizing and running parts of your countries," adding, "We are not going to let that happen."
"Many cartels have developed sophisticated military operational capabilities, and some are highly advanced. They claim they are stronger than their own militaries," he said. "That is unacceptable." He added, "These brutal criminal organizations pose an unacceptable threat to national security and provide dangerous entry points for foreign hostile forces in our region."
President Trump asserted that "Mexican cartels are orchestrating the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere," identifying Mexico as the center of cartel violence.
He said, "At the core of our agreement is a commitment to deploy lethal military force to dismantle the evil cartels and terror networks," adding that 17 countries are expected to join the alliance.
He continued, "We need your help. All you have to do is tell us where they are. We have incredible weapons," adding, "We are going to use missiles."
President Trump emphasized, "The leaders gathered here are united in the conviction that we can no longer tolerate lawlessness in our hemisphere and that we will not," adding, "The way to defeat these enemies is to bring the power of our military to bear."
After his remarks, President Trump signed a presidential proclamation at the event to launch the "Americas cartel response alliance." Leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago attended the meeting.