Washington, March 7 (IANS) U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday the creation of a new multinational military alliance aimed at destroying criminal drug cartels across the Western Hemisphere.​

Speaking at the inaugural Shield of the Americas Summit, Trump said the new initiative would unite governments and militaries in a coordinated campaign against organised crime networks.​

“On this historic day, we come together to announce a brand new military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels in our region,” Trump said.​

He said the partnership would be known as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. “We’re calling this military partnership the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition,” Trump said.​

Trump said leaders across the region had agreed that the threat posed by cartels had grown too serious to ignore. “Every leader here today is united in the conviction that we cannot and will not tolerate the lawlessness in our hemisphere any longer,” he said.​

The president argued that military power would be necessary to dismantle heavily armed criminal groups. “The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said.​

“We have to use our military. You have to use your military.” Trump said many cartels had developed capabilities rivaling national armed forces. “Many of the cartels have developed sophisticated military operations,” he said.​

“In some cases, they say they’re more powerful than the military in the country.”​

The coalition will bring together countries from across the Americas, with the United States providing intelligence and military leadership. “In many cases, our forces have already been working closely with yours,” Trump said.​

“The United States looks forward to deepening and expanding that cooperation in the months ahead.” Trump also warned that cartel violence threatens regional stability and security. “These brutal criminal organisations pose an unacceptable threat to national security,” he said.​

He added that cartels also create opportunities for rival global powers to gain influence in the region. “They provide a dangerous gateway for foreign adversaries in our region,” he said.​

U.S. officials said representatives from 17 countries had already joined the new coalition initiative.​

Transnational criminal organisations operating across Latin America have long been responsible for large-scale drug trafficking, violence, and corruption. Their operations supply narcotics to North American markets and often destabilise governments in parts of Central and South America.

–IANS

lkj/dan