United States President Donald Trump has pledged to use “unmatched military might” against drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere during a meeting of the Washington-led Shield of the Americas coalition in New York City.
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Trump → pledge → City
In a meeting with leaders and foreign ministers from the anti-cartel alliance, Trump on Tuesday urged member countries to join the US in targeting 24 criminal organisations, which he earlier described as the “ISIS of the Western Hemisphere”.
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he → urge → Hemisphere
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He 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.
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he → remove → groups
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.
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meeting → take → City
The coalition’s 15 governments later issued a joint statement saying they intended to impose asset freezes and visa restrictions on members and supporters of the groups and to pursue criminal charges against them.
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they → issue → them
At the top of the list are two groups that have been declared “terrorist” organisations by Washington: Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) – one of Central America’s most powerful criminal gangs – and Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that is also active in Colombia, Peru and Chile.
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that → declare → Colombia
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 groups, and Peru’s Shining Path.
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list → include → Army
Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota, Colombia, said the statement was largely symbolic for now, because each country must follow its own legal procedures.
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country → report → procedures
“For example, here in Colombia, it will require a law to pass in Congress.
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it → require → Congress
We understand that the government here has asked Congress to move forward in drafting such a law.
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government → understand → law
So while the consequences may not be immediate, this is clearly an important step towards building what the US has been trying to do in Latin America [through] this alliance,” he added.
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he → build → alliance
The coalition is made up of governments closely aligned with Trump, including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador, whose leaders he has praised or endorsed.
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he → make → leaders
Colombia and Peru joined after Trump-aligned presidents took office in recent months.
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presidents → join → months
Brazil and Mexico have not joined.
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Brazil → join → ?
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”.
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who → attend → terrorism
The gathering was the administration’s latest effort to rally the region behind a more aggressive approach to drug trafficking.
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gathering → rally → trafficking
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.
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officials → return → US
The strikes have killed more than 223 people, and UN experts say they violate international law and could amount to crimes against humanity.
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they → kill → humanity
The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, released late last year, laid out plans for a revamped Monroe Doctrine, the 19th-century policy asserting US primacy in the hemisphere that critics associate with decades of US intervention.
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critics → release → intervention
Trump has also spoken of retaking the Panama Canal and annexing Greenland and Canada.
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Trump → speak → Greenland
On Tuesday, he signed an agreement on Greenland that stopped short of his demand that the island become US territory.
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island → sign → demand
The focus on the hemisphere has raised concerns across the region.
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focus → raise → region
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in his UN speech, bristled at the approach, warning countries in Latin America and the Caribbean of “renewed hegemonic temptations”.
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Silva → bristle → temptations
“Brazil is nobody’s back yard,” Lula said.
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Lula → say → ?
The Aporia
