Military action has been pitched as a potential way to fight drug smuggling in the country<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has said he is open to ordering strikes in Mexico to fight drug cartels, regardless of opposition from Mexican authorities.
\nSpeaking to reporters on Monday, Trump was asked whether he would consider striking Mexico or sending US troops to tackle drug smuggling. He replied that it would be \u201cOK\u201d with him.
\n\u201cWould I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs,\u201d Trump said. He refused to say whether he would seek Mexico\u2019s permission but claimed the country\u2019s authorities know \u201chow I stand.\u201d
\n\u201cWe know every route, we know the addresses of every drug lord,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThey\u2019re killing our people. That\u2019s like a war. Would I do it? I\u2019d be proud to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
US to add \u2018terror\u2019 label to Venezuelan cartel it claims is linked to Maduro<\/p>\n
The US has increasingly accused Mexico of failing to curb drug-smuggling networks, especially those trafficking fentanyl to the US, and placed sweeping sanctions on Mexican banks, companies, and alleged cartel-linked individuals earlier this year, along with a 25% tariff on Mexican imports.
\nWhile Mexico has cooperated with Washington in the anti-drug campaign, it firmly rejects any foreign military presence. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly said US military action in Mexico without her consent will not happen and rejected Trump\u2019s proposal to send troops into the country, arguing it would violate Mexico\u2019s sovereignty.
\nPotential strikes inside Mexico would expand what the Trump administration calls a campaign against narcotics trafficking in Central and South America. Trump labeled Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro \u201cdrug leaders\u201d and earlier this year sent a naval armada to the western Caribbean under the pretext of fighting drug smuggling. Since September, US forces have hit 21 alleged drug-smuggling vessels, killing more than 80 people.
\nSpeaking to reporters, Trump said he would be \u201cproud\u201d to strike cocaine factories in Colombia and would not rule out sending troops to Venezuela to fight drug cartels.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Colombian leader labels Trump \u2018barbarian\u2019 over Caribbean strikes<\/p>\n
The US buildup and strikes prompted Colombia\u2019s Petro, whom Washington sanctioned last month, to denounce Trump as \u201ca barbarian.\u201d Maduro, who denies links to drug cartels, warned Trump\u2019s actions could spark a \u201cforever war\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Military action has been pitched as a potential way to fight drug smuggling in the country US President Donald Trump has said he is open to ordering strikes in Mexico…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t