US President Donald Trump has announced that American military forces may soon carry out ground operations targeting drug cartels inside Mexico. He made the statement during an interview on Fox News, which was published on January 8. According to Trump, the US has “virtually shut down” maritime drug routes — including those from Venezuela — and will now shift focus to stopping land-based smuggling across the southern border. “The cartels practically control Mexico. They are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans every year,” he said. Trump did not provide details on the timeline, structure, or scale of the proposed military actions.
“We've knocked out 97 percent of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "The cartels are running Mexico, it’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country."
"They’re killing 250,000, 300,000 in our country every single year."
He did not provide any details regarding the timeline, scope, or structure of the proposed operations.
The appearance marked the president’s first sit-down interview since Maduro’s capture.
Trump praised the U.S. military personnel involved in the Venezuelan operations, offering admiration for what he called a "fantastic group" that carried out the mission.
The president also explained the "Donroe Doctrine" – a term some of his admirers have created for his brand of foreign policy.
"Well, they call it the ‘Donroe’ – I didn't call it that, but they are calling it the Monroe Doctrine. And now they call it ‘The Donroe,’ which is basically safety for this part of the world. And yeah, I mean, it's pretty simple: We don't want drugs pouring into our country," Trump said. "We don't want bad people coming into our county, like happened for four years under Biden, who was the disgraced worst president in the history of our country – horrible. We had some other bad ones. Let me tell you, Obama was a terrible president. The divisiveness and the hatred that was caused – many of the people allowed into the country."
Trump touted oil as one of the many wins for America stemming from Maduro’s takedown, in addition to Venezuela agreeing to release all political prisoners.
"[Venezuela] They’ve been great. They really have been. I mean, everything we’ve wanted, they’ve given us," Trump told Fox News.
Revenue generated from Venezuelan oil will reportedly be used to benefit both the Venezuelan people and the United States. And, Trump said, the oil is worth "billions and billions."
Meanwhile, Euronews points out that any military action on Mexican soil without the country’s consent would constitute a violation of international law and would represent an unprecedented move against a close US ally and major trading partner.
Trump has previously stated that he bases decisions not on international law, but on what he considers his own moral principles.
