WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said in an interview posted online Tuesday that he planned to designate Mexican drug cartels as terror groups.
The move comes after Trump called for a “war” on the cartels in early November when nine women and children from a Mormon community in northern Mexico were killed in a hail of gunfire. The victims were dual US-Mexican citizens.
“Are you going to designate those cartels in Mexico as terror groups and start hitting them with drones?” asked Bill O’Reilly, a conservative media personality, in an interview posted on his personal website.
“I don’t want to say what I’m going to do, but they will be designated,” Trump answered.
He added: “I will be designating the cartels... absolutely. I have been working on that for the last 90 days.
“Designation is not that easy; you have to go through a process and we are well into that process.”
Trump’s remarks on Mexico came from a short sample of a longer interview available for paid subscribers on the O’Reilly website.
Mexican authorities reacted swiftly, with the foreign ministry saying that it has contacted US officials “to understand the meaning and scope of the remarks.”
Mexico will also “seek a high-level meeting as soon as possible to present Mexico’s position” and hear Washington’s views, the foreign ministry said in an official translation of their statement.
Mexico will seek talks to “make progress with reducing the flow of arms and money from the United States to organized crime in Mexico, in addition to precursor chemicals and drug precursors that cross Mexican territory en route to the United States,” the statement read.
Mexico has long complained about the flow of weapons bought in the United States and smuggled south of the border.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard’s reaction was more forceful on Twitter.
“Mexico will never allow any action that means a violation of its national sovereignty,” he wrote.
He said that Mexican officials had already made their views known to Washington “as well as our resolution to deal with transnational organized crime.”
The case of the slain Mormons has cast a spotlight on drug cartel-fueled violence in Mexico and leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s struggles to rein it in.
The victims, including twin eight-month-old babies, were killed as they drove on a remote road between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, a lawless region disputed by warring drug cartels.
Mexican officials say a drug cartel called La Linea (The Line) may have mistaken the victims for members of a rival gang. Relatives, however, believe the families were deliberately targeted.
US Mormons emigrated to Mexico in the late 19th century, fleeing persecution for their traditions, including polygamy.
Now breakaways from the official Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which banned polygamy in 1891, they have lived in Mexico for generations.
Trump to designate Mexican cartels as ‘terror’ groups
Trump to designate Mexican cartels as ‘terror’ groups
- The move comes after Trump called for a ‘war’ on the cartels in early November
- ‘Designation is not that easy; you have to go through a process and we are well into that process’
Britain needs to step up defense spending faster, says Starmer
- Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30
LONDON: Britain should step up and accelerate its defense spending, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, following a report that the government was considering bringing forward its target to spend 3 percent of economic output on defense.
Britain, which has warned of the risks posed by Russia, said in February 2025 that it would lift annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of the GDP by 2027 and aim for 3 percent in the next Parliament, which is expected to begin after an election due in 2029.
The BBC reported that the government was now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029. It said no decision had been taken but the government recognized current plans would not cover rising defense costs.
HIGHLIGHT
The BBC reported that the government is now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029.
Asked whether he would bring the target forward to 2029, Starmer echoed comments he made at the Munich Security Conference, where he said Europe had united to support Ukraine with the supply of weapons and munitions and to strengthen military readiness.
“We need to step up. That means on defense spending, we need to go faster,” Starmer told reporters on Monday. “We’ve obviously made commitments already in relation to that, but it goes beyond just how much you spend.”
Latest NATO estimates show that Britain spent 2.3 percent of the GDP on defense in 2024, above the alliance’s 2 percent guideline. But like other European countries, it has faced US pressure to spend more to protect the continent. Struggling with high debt and spending commitments, the government last year cut its international aid budget to fund the hike in defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP but is yet to publish an investment plan with spending priorities, something that has frustrated the defense industry.
Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has struggled to stay on track with her plans to repair the public finances. The BBC said the Finance Ministry was believed to be cautious about the new defense spending proposals.
A government spokesperson said Britain was “delivering the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
