US President urges countries to designate narcoterrorist groups as common threats, impose sanctions and protect strategic resources from hostile foreign influence
New York, September 2026 : US President Donald Trump has called on countries across the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation against drug cartels and other transnational criminal organisations, urging governments to designate groups classified by Washington as narcoterrorist threats and impose sweeping sanctions on organisations already designated by the United States as foreign terrorist entities.
Addressing the “Shield of the Americas” event, Trump described drug cartels as among the most serious security challenges confronting the region and pledged US support to governments seeking to dismantle their networks.
“Today, I’m asking all nations in the Shield of the Americas to formally designate narcoterrorists as common threats to stability and apply crushing sanctions against all 24 US designated foreign terrorist organizations,” Trump said.
He also called for coordinated action against drug-trafficking organisations operating across national borders, arguing that criminal networks had expanded their reach beyond individual countries.
“For years, cartels have waged war on the people of this hemisphere. Now we’re waging war on them,” Trump said, stressing that the primary responsibility of governments was to protect the safety of their citizens.
Trump characterised the cartels as violent terrorist organisations and described some as paramilitary groups exercising control over territory. He said Washington was prepared to assist governments that lacked the capacity to confront such organisations on their own.
“You let us know and we take them out, or you take them out yourself,” Trump said. “But if you can’t, we’ll do it for you.”
The US president thanked participating governments for joining the Department of War’s America Counter Cartel Coalition and described the Shield of the Americas as a major new framework for cooperation on economic and national security.
“This is the largest and most powerful alliance for economic and national security ever to convene in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said.
Trump also highlighted what he described as a sharp decline in fentanyl entering the United States through maritime routes. He claimed that fentanyl deliveries by sea had fallen by 97 per cent, although he did not provide supporting figures during his address.
Beyond combating organised crime, Trump urged participating countries to protect the region’s natural resources and strategic infrastructure from hostile foreign influence. He specifically mentioned energy pipelines, rare-earth resources and agricultural trade routes as areas requiring greater protection.
“The resources of the Americas must always belong to the people of the Americas,” Trump said, adding that the United States was prepared to work with regional governments to strengthen economic and national security.
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori expressed support for the initiative, saying Peru was joining the effort with determination. She referred to her country's past experience in combating the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA, and said organised crime today presented a different challenge because criminal networks operated across national borders.
“But right now, we have a different type of problem. This crime that we are facing doesn’t respect frontiers,” Fujimori said while welcoming Trump's initiative.
The meeting comes as Washington seeks closer security cooperation with governments across Latin America and the Caribbean on organised crime, drug trafficking, migration and economic security.
Trump said cartel violence and uncontrolled migration had contributed to political changes in the region and argued that governments needed to adopt a firm approach towards criminal organisations.
“And the only way you’re going to stop the crime is through toughness,” Trump said, calling for stronger enforcement measures against groups involved in trafficking and organised crime.
The Shield of the Americas initiative is intended to bring together governments seeking greater cooperation with Washington on security and economic issues. The discussions also reflect growing US concerns over foreign involvement in strategically important sectors of the Western Hemisphere.
Trump's call for coordinated sanctions and action against cartels now places greater emphasis on how participating countries will translate the proposed framework into national policies, law-enforcement cooperation and cross-border operations. The initiative could also deepen intelligence-sharing and coordination between governments confronting transnational criminal networks.
At the same time, the emphasis on strategic resources indicates that the proposed partnership extends beyond counter-narcotics operations, encompassing broader questions of economic sovereignty, infrastructure security and foreign investment across the Americas.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
