Trump Rattles Latin America by Weighing Using Military Force

(Bloomberg) — 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.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said late Friday the security agreement it has been working on is based on the principles of collaboration and respect for sovereignty.

“Mexico would not accept the participation of US military forces in our territory,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, echoing comments by President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier in the day. “Our cooperation is based on the principles of mutual trust, shared responsibility, sovereign equality, respect for territorial integrity, and cooperation without subordination.”

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.

Late Friday, in a conciliatory gesture, the US ambassador to Mexico released a statement pledging that the neighboring countries would work together — and not unilaterally — to combat drug traffickers.

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment.

The emerging plans to deal with cartels build on the Trump administration’s already more aggressive presence in a region that is deeply integrated into the US economy, from cross-border gas pipelines to maritime logistics.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Central America on his first overseas trip, pushing for concessions on US military use of the Panama Canal. The administration has engaged in a war of words with Colombia’s leftist president Gustavo Petro and may be preparing to decertify that country’s efforts against narcotics. Officials have also stepped up allegations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a drug lord, doubling a reward for information leading to his arrest to $50 million this week.

The hardening of US policy toward Latin America has been met with varying responses in the region, from open arms to strident opposition. In Ecuador, the pro-US government is preparing a referendum that would allow foreign military installations in national territory, a move seen as clearing the way for the US to reactivate the use of a base in the violence-torn country.

‘No Invasion’

In Mexico, President Sheinbaum responded defiantly to any suggestion that American soldiers would take a combat role in her country. Any agreement with the Trump administration must respect the nation’s sovereignty, she reiterated Friday at her daily news conference.

“The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military,” she said Friday. “We cooperate, we collaborate, but there will be no invasion. That is out of the question, absolutely out of the question. What has been stated in all the calls is that it is not permitted, nor is it part of any agreement, much less.”

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