President Donald Trump welcomed like-minded leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean in Florida recently for a landmark summit called Shield of the Americas aimed at promoting freedom, security, and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere. This coalition of nations will work together to stop foreign interference in the Western Hemisphere, criminal and narco-terrorist gangs and cartels, and illegal and mass immigration.
“On this historic day, we come together to announce a brand-new military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region,” announced President Trump.
“We're calling this military partnership, The America's Counter-Cartel Coalition,” he said. Representatives of 17 different nations have formally entered this new alliance. “The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks,” vowed President Trump. “Once and for all, we'll get rid of them.”
“For decades, leaders in this region have allowed large swaths of territory in the Western Hemisphere to come under the direct control,” of drug cartels, said President Trump. He vowed to help countries take on the “bloodthirsty cartels that impose their will through murder, torture, extortion, drug trafficking, bribery, and terror.”
Many of the cartels have developed sophisticated military operations. This militarization allows cartels to engage in violent conflicts over territory and can undermine state authority and security. “We can't have that,” said President Trump. “These brutal criminal organizations pose an unacceptable threat to national security, and they provide a dangerous gateway for foreign adversaries in our region. And we don't want them near our country, either.”
All the leaders gathered at the Shield of the Americas Summit are “united in the conviction that we cannot and will not tolerate the lawlessness in our hemisphere any longer,” said President Trump. “The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries.”
“In many cases, [U.S.] forces have already been working closely with” the militaries of various countries, said President Trump, “and the United States looks forward to deepening and expanding that cooperation in the months ahead.”
“As part of our commitment to countering the cartel presence in our region, we must recognize the epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico,” said President Trump. “The Mexican cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere, and the United States government will do whatever is necessary to defend our national security and to protect the safety of the American people.”
The “courage and resolve of the great leaders” at this summit, said President Trump, “will make our nations safer, stronger, richer, and more successful than ever before.”