US President Donald Trump is urging Latin American countries to deploy their armed forces to fight cartels, despite analysts’ warnings that such a move would likely stoke violence while doing little to stop drug production.
Trump has threatened tariffs on regional countries if they fail to increase drug interdictions, while also ordering strikes on dozens of vessels off South America. But experts have long said that relying on military forces rather than investing in local policing threatens to worsen already grave security crises.
Mexico offers a stark example: Since deploying its military to fight crime in 2006, the country has recorded nearly 500,000 murders, far more than the previous two decades, while drug flows have only shot up.
