Trump pushes for regional military coalition to confront cartels at ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday the formation of a new military coalition aimed at combating narco-trafficking and dismantling criminal cartels operating in the continent. The announcement was made in Miami during the inaugural "Shield of the Americas" summit, a meeting that brought together several Latin American leaders and members of the U.S. administration.

During the event, Trump explained that at least 17 countries have signed the agreement, dubbed the "America’s Counter Cartel Coalition," whose purpose is to coordinate actions to confront criminal networks linked to drug trafficking in the region.

The president pointed out that the axis of the agreement contemplates the use of military force against cartels and networks that he described as terrorist organizations. "Once and for all, we’ll get rid of them," he said.

He also called on participating countries to support joint efforts by providing information on the location of these organizations.

Recent operations and regional involvement

The announcement comes amidst Washington's tougher policy against drug trafficking. Earlier this year, Trump promised to consider land operations against drug cartels, in addition to naval operations targeting suspected narcotics vessels in the Caribbean.

In the same vein, this week the U.S. military led an operation against a supply complex described as "narco-terrorist" in Ecuador, an action carried out at the request of the Ecuadorian government.

Among the countries whose leaders participated in the summit were Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago.

References to Venezuela

During his speech, Trump also referred to the military operation carried out in January in Venezuela that led to the departure from power of dictator Nicolás Maduro, as well as to the cooperation that Washington has maintained with the new Venezuelan authorities since then.

The president also praised Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, stating that she has been collaborating with the United States. Trump added that U.S. companies are extracting large amounts of oil in Venezuela and recalled that both countries recently agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations.