President Trump: On this historic day, we come together to announce a brand new military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region. We're calling this military partnership the, 'Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition'. Representatives of seventeen different nations formally entered this new alliance. The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks, once and for all.
President Trump: For decades, leaders in this region have allowed large swaths of territory in the western hemisphere to come under the direct control; transnational gangs have taken over and they've run areas of your country; we're not going to let that happen, we'll help you. And blood-thirsty cartels that impose their will through murder, torture, extortion, drug trafficking, bribery, and terror. And some of you are in danger. I mean, you're actually in danger. Hard to believe. But we're working with you to do whatever we have to do.
President Trump: Many of the cartels have developed sophisticated military operations; highly sophisticated in some cases. They say they're more powerful than the military in the country. Can't have that. These brutal criminal organizations pose an unacceptable threat to natural security, and they provide a dangerous gateway for foreign adversaries in our region.
President Trump: Over the last year, the world has witnessed the supreme power of the United States; we're the most powerful military country in the world. Just as we formed a coalition to eradicate ISIS in the Middle East, we must now do the same thing to eradicate the cartels at home.
President Trump: As part of our commitment to countering the cartel presence in our region, we must recognize the epicenter of cartel violence in Mexico. The Mexican Cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere, and the United States Government will do whatever is necessary to defend out national security and to protect the safety of the American people….the cartels are running Mexico. We can't have that. Too close to us. Too close to you
President Trump: As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we're also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba. Cuba's at the end of the line. They're very much a the end of the line. They have no money, they have no oil, they have a bod philosophy; they have a bad regime that's been bad for a long time. They used to get the money from Venezuela, they get the oil from Venezuela, but they don't have any money from Venezuela, they don't' have any oil. They don't have anything…Cuba's in it's last moments of life as it was. It'll have a great new life, but it's in it's last moments of life, the way it is…So as these situations in Venezuela and Cuba should make clear, under our new doctrine; and it is a doctrine, we will not allow hostile foreign influence to gain a foothold in this hemisphere. That includes the Panama Canal, which we talked about. We're not going to allow it. And together we'll protect our sovereignty, our security, and our cherished freedom and independence.
Secretary Hegseth: At the War Department, we look forward to working with all of your countries, and more that are not here, to say, with our shared assets, and our intelligence, and our capabilities, with American leadership, we will go on offense against the cartels. They will know that we're just around the corner. And whether it's drug boats or on land, the 'Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition', the ACCC, will be a force for good, for peace through strength, in this hemisphere.
Thanks for everything, Jim.