French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Friday that any efforts to combat drug trafficking must respect the sovereignty of all countries. According to the AFP agency, it was an indirect criticism of the controversial the US anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean and the Pacific, informs TASR.
“The fight against drug traffickers is something that unites us all… and is based on cooperation between sovereign nations and respect for the sovereignty of each of them,” said Macron during his visit to Mexico and clarified that he also discussed this issue with the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum. Macron is the first French president to visit Mexico in over ten years.
The government of US President Donald Trump launched in Latin America, military operations to suppress drug trafficking. However, according to some experts, the attacks can be considered extrajudicial executions, writes AFP. US forces targeted vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. So far, 18 vessels have been destroyed, with Washington releasing no concrete evidence that they were smuggling drugs or that they posed a threat to the United States. At least 62 victims were killed in the strikes.
On Tuesday, the president downplayed the possibility that he would the US government launched ground operations against the cartels in Mexicowhich also responded to the NBC News report. “Furthermore, we do not agree” to any intervention, she said.
During his visit, Macron emphasized the interest in strengthening relations between Mexico and France. Together with Sheinbaum, they chaired a meeting of French and Mexican business leaders.
Mexico is the largest Latin American investor in Francewhile Paris is only the 11th largest foreign investor in Mexico.
