Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Shield of the Americas member countries to join the US in targeting 24 criminal organisations, and the coalition's 15 governments said they intend to impose asset freezes and visa restrictions. At the meeting, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Trump pledged to use "unmatched military might" against drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere, Al Jazeera reported. The joint statement said the governments intended to apply those measures to members and supporters of the groups and to pursue criminal charges against them.
What did the president ask for? Trump said he was asking "all nations in the Shield of the Americas to formally designate narco-terrorists as common threats to stability and apply crushing sanctions" against all of the groups, which he had earlier described as the "ISIS of the Western Hemisphere". The coalition is made up of governments closely aligned with Trump, including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador; Colombia and Peru joined after presidents aligned with him took office in recent months. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended, praised "the emergence of strong leaders who are committed to the challenge of taking on transnational terrorism".
Which groups are named? At the top of the list are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), one of Central America's most powerful gangs, and Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang also active in Colombia, Peru and Chile, both of which Washington has declared "terrorist" organisations, Al Jazeera reported. The list also includes major Mexican cartels, Colombian armed groups such as the National Liberation Army, Brazil's Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho, and Peru's Shining Path.
What is the background? Since returning to office last year, Trump has designated cartels as foreign terrorist organisations and ordered dozens of strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that US officials say were carrying narcotics bound for the US. The strikes have killed more than 223 people, and UN experts say they violate international law and could amount to crimes against humanity. In his UN speech, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned Latin American and Caribbean countries of "renewed hegemonic temptations".
What happens next? The statement is largely symbolic for now because each country must follow its own legal procedures, said Alessandro Rampietti, an Al Jazeera correspondent reporting from Bogota. In Colombia, he said, that will require a law to pass in Congress, and the government has asked Congress to move forward in drafting one.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
