DORAL, United States — In a significant policy address, U.S. President Donald Trump called upon Latin American nations to deploy military force against drug cartels, which he characterized as a spreading ‘cancer.’ Speaking at his Doral golf club near Miami on Saturday, Trump proposed that the U.S. could provide missile strikes to target narcotics leaders, emphasizing the precision of such operations.
The president, who is concurrently managing heightened tensions with Iran, articulated a robust strategy for advancing U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. He asserted that communist-led Cuba was in its ‘last moments of life’ and advocated for stringent measures by regional allies to combat organized crime. The White House formally inaugurated a 17-nation ‘counter cartel’ coalition, described as a collective commitment by governments to employ ‘hard power’ against security threats.
‘We’re working with you to do whatever we have to do. We’ll use missiles. You want us to use a missile? They’re extremely accurate,’ Trump told right-wing leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean. He audibly mimicked the sound of a missile strike to illustrate his point, stating, ‘That’s the end of that cartel person.’
This initiative builds upon Trump’s previous engagements in the region, including efforts to oust Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro and collaborate with his replacement, Delcy Rodriguez, to secure Venezuelan oil reserves for American interests.
Attendees at the ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit included Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, known for his extensive crackdown on gangs. Noboa declared on social media that the era of impunity for organized crime was over, emphasizing that criminal networks could no longer operate across borders without consequences.
Irene Mia, a Latin America expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that escalating cartel violence has affected previously stable countries like Ecuador and Chile. This deteriorating security landscape has contributed to recent right-wing electoral victories in the region and reduced opposition to U.S. intervention, Mia explained.
Trump urged regional leaders to utilize military capabilities to eradicate criminal organizations, warning that failure to act would allow the threat to metastasize. ‘The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,’ he stated.
