Trump signs order for use of military force against drug cartels abroad: Report
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump signs order for use of military force against drug cartels abroad: Report")
US President Donald Trump Photograph: (Reuters)
US military officials have already started drawing up plans for targeting cartels, but any unilateral strikes could also raise legal issues if individuals not posing an imminent threat or not part of a conflict where Congress has authorised military action get killed.
President Donald Trump has reportedly signed a directive for the Pentagon to start using military force against the drug cartels that have been designated foreign terrorist organisations. Trump signed the directive in secret, providing a justification for potential military operations against the criminal organizations, reported the New York Times. As per the report, the US military officials have already started drawing up plans for targeting cartels. But any unilateral strikes could also raise legal issues if individuals who do not pose an imminent threat or who are not part of a conflict where Congress has authorised military action get killed.
After taking office, Trump took executive action to designate several drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations, which provided additional law enforcement tools to crack down on their activity.
In February, the Trump administration designated eight drug trafficking groups, including six Mexican, one Venezuelan, and one in El Salvador, as terrorist organisations.
‘There will be no invasion,’ vows Mexico president
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted Friday that there would be ‘no invasion of Mexico’ after reports that Trump had ordered US military to target Latin American drug cartels.
“There will be no invasion of Mexico,” Sheinbaum declared.
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“We were informed that this executive order was coming and that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory,” Sheinbaum said at her regular morning news conference.
In May, Trump had offered to send US troops into Mexico to combat drug cartels, but was rebuffed by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
“We can collaborate. We can work together. But you in your territory, and us in ours,” Sheinbaum had said. “We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army in our territory.”
US doubles bounty on President Nicolás Maduro
Two weeks ago, the Trump administration designated another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization.
On Thursday, the US Justice Department doubled to $50 million its bounty on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, whom it accuses of leading the Cartel of the Suns.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil dismissed the bounty as “the most ridiculous smokescreen we have ever seen.”
