Trump Rattles Latin America by Weighing Using Military Force

The US under President Donald Trump is crafting a confrontational approach toward Latin America that signals a willingness to use military force against drug cartels, discarding the Biden administration’s preference for carrots over sticks to coax countries into alignment with US interests.

Bloomberg
Published 9 Aug 2025, 02:58 AM IST



The US under President Donald Trump is crafting a confrontational approach toward Latin America that signals a willingness to use military force against drug cartels, discarding the Biden administration’s preference for carrots over sticks to coax countries into alignment with US interests.

The New York Times reported Friday that the president ordered the Defense Department to prepare options to take military action against Latin American drug cartels. A US agreement with Mexico to expand security cooperation, expected to be signed in the coming weeks, would facilitate joint monitoring of criminal organizations by security forces and coordination on the border.

But the pending agreement won’t provide legal grounds for direct US military action on Mexican territory, officials have said. Any such intervention would risk inflaming anti-US sentiments already whipped up by the Trump administration’s wave of tariffs.

“This could call into question the security agreement that was drawn up, which is based on a great deal of trust,” said Victoria Dittmar, a researcher at Insight Crime who specializes in Mexico.

Trump, asked about the possibility of using military force Friday at the White House, said he would have “more to say about that soon.”
“Latin America has got a lot of cartels. They’ve got a lot of drugs flowing. So, you know, we want to protect our country,” Trump said.

More:
https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/trump-rattles-latin-america-by-weighing-using-military-force-11754688516266.html