Donald Trump has stressed that he is not satisfied with the way Mexico has handled the war on drugs and, therefore, does not rule out an attack against the cartels in that country.
US President Donald Trump assured on Monday that he would not have “any problem” with possible attacks by the United States in Mexico to combat drug cartels.
“Would you launch attacks in Mexico to stop drug trafficking? I have no problem with that”, stressed the North American head of state, speaking to journalists in the Oval Office.
Trump stressed that he is not satisfied with the way Mexico has handled the war on drugs and, therefore, does not rule out an attack against the cartels in that country.
“I’m not saying I’m going to do that. But I would be proud to do it”, he further underlined.
Trump stated that he is in negotiations with the Mexican Government and that the Latin American country knows his position, after observing that hundreds of thousands of people have died in the United States due to drugs.
Trump’s words represent a change in tone, as he had previously praised Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for her cooperation with the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.
The Republican President made these statements to the press in the midst of operation ‘Lança do Sul’, which he ordered to combat drug trafficking in Latin America and which particularly increased tensions with Venezuela due to a possible US attack on its territory.
Since September, the US military has destroyed around 20 vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, near Venezuela and Colombia, extrajudicially executing more than 70 people, .
The United States mobilized an armada in the Caribbean, officially to conduct the military campaign against drug trafficking.
Trump stressed, at the same press conference, that he does not rule out any option regarding possible military intervention in Venezuelan territory and that he is open to talking to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“Yes. I’ll probably talk to him,” Trump said, later indicating that he will talk to Maduro “at some point.”
“It causes tremendous damage to our country,” Trump added, responding to a question about whether Maduro could remain in power under some circumstances.
Regarding the possible deployment of troops to Venezuela, Trump indicated that he “does not rule out anything” and insisted that Caracas “has released hundreds of thousands of people from its prisons” to the United States.
“I’m not in love with whoever governs Venezuela. I love the people of Venezuela,” he concluded.
The North American President had already mentioned possible “conversations” with Maduro on Sunday.
