US Prioritizes Western Hemisphere Cartels

President Donald Trump has signed off on a new US counterterrorism strategy, making the elimination of drug cartels in the Northern Hemisphere the administration's highest priority. This shift acknowledges that cartels have caused more American deaths than global conflicts since World War II. The Donald Trump administration has already taken aggressive steps, including the ouster of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, military strikes on drug boats in Latin American waters that have killed at least 191 people, and increased pressure on Cuba. Sebastian Gorka, the White House counterterrorism czar, emphasized the commitment to strangling illicit funds and tracking drug boats. The strategy also includes targeting Islamic military groups, violent secular political groups, and preventing nonstate actors from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. The United States expects greater cooperation from its allies in bolstering counterterrorism efforts.