President Donald Trump said on Monday that he supports aggressive action against drug cartels and narcotics production in Mexico and Colombia.
Trump has intensified his campaign against maritime drug trafficking, authorising more forceful interdiction operations and giving U.S. forces expanded authority to disable or sink vessels suspected of carrying narcotics.
Asked at an event in the Oval Office whether he backed similar ground strikes in Mexico to stem drug trafficking, Trump said, “OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs.”
While he stopped short of announcing any direct U.S. military intervention, he later raised the prospect of targeting cocaine laboratories in Colombia.
“Would I knock out those factories? I would be proud to do it personally,” Trump said.
“I didn’t say I’m doing it, but I would be proud to do it because we’re going to save millions of lives,” he added.
Trump's comments are in contrast to remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who last week said there would be no U.S. military intervention in Mexico and that cooperation between the two countries was at an "all-time high."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has repeatedly boasted about good relations with Trump and his administration, denied earlier this month that any unilateral U.S. military action would take place.
This follows reports that the U.S. had begun detailed planning for a new anti-cartel mission inside the country, including sending troops and intelligence officers to Mexico.
Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro have traded barbs over drug enforcement strategy, escalating tensions between Washington and Bogota.
Last week, Petro ordered Colombian public security forces to suspend intelligence sharing with U.S. intelligence agencies until Washington stops attacking boats in the Caribbean.
The U.S. Senate has blocked a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump’s administration to report to Congress on alleged hu...
Three people were killed, including a child and seven others were injured in Russian air strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region early on W...
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has accused the U.S. and Israel of seeking to foment internal divisions in Iran after failing to defeat the cou...
A Russian guided aerial bomb has struck an apartment building in Kharkiv, injuring 22 people, including children, according to the city’s mayor. The strike follows a day of near-continuous Russian attacks across Ukraine that killed at least five people.
The European Union's decision to simultaneously advance accession talks with Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro and Albania marks its most ambitious enlargement effort in more than two decades.
U.S. President Donald Trump has denied reports that he offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that more than 8,000 North Korean troops are currently in Russia, with preparations under way to send another 10,000.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has accused the U.S. and Israel of seeking to foment internal divisions in Iran after failing to defeat the country militarily, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.
The U.S. Senate has blocked a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump’s administration to report to Congress on alleged human rights violations and rising violence in the West Bank.
Three people were killed, including a child and seven others were injured in Russian air strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials have said.
China has announced plans to complete the world's first AI-driven geological map of Mars by the end of 2028, a project that aims to reconstruct the red planet's ancient water history and introduce a Chinese framework for Martian geological time that Beijing hopes will become a new global standard.
Norway’s parliament on Wednesday began public hearings into ties between late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Norwegian diplomats and politicians, as authorities face questions over the impact of those relationships on the country’s foreign service.
New York prosecutors have reopened a criminal investigation into allegations that seven Cornell University fraternity members sexually assaulted a student in 2024. The case is set to be presented to a grand jury following renewed scrutiny.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment