Washington — U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his statements on Thursday regarding the influence of cartels in Mexico, while expressing respect for President Claudia Sheinbaum. During his administration, he stated, more than 3,000 arrests have been made of members of criminal organizations, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The statements were made during a press conference at the White House, where Trump announced the "historic achievements" of the new Interior Security Task Force. "Colombia is in a very bad state. Mexico is controlled by the cartels. I have great respect for the president, an extraordinary and brave woman, but Mexico is controlled by the cartels and we have to defend ourselves from that," he stated.
The president highlighted that the Task Force has achieved the highest number of arrests of criminals linked to drug trafficking in the history of the United States: "In a matter of weeks, the Task Force has arrested cartel leaders, operatives, and gang members, more than 3,000 and counting, including the CJNG, Sinaloa Cartel, LNFM Cartel, MS-13, and Tren de Aragua."
Trump was accompanied by high-ranking officials, including Pete Hegseth (Defense), Pam Bondi (Justice), Kristi Noem (National Security), Tulsi Gabbard (National Intelligence), and Kash Patel (FBI).
Key Captures of Drug Trafficking Leaders
During the conference, Tulsi Gabbard detailed that, thanks to actionable intelligence, the capture of "El Pato," a boss of the Sinaloa Cartel, was achieved in Ciudad Juárez, along with three of his financial operators. Furthermore, in an inter-institutional operation, another member of the cartel linked to trafficking large quantities of cocaine and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash was arrested.
Gabbard also reported that, with the collaboration of Mexican authorities, "La Diabla," a trafficker of minors associated with the CJNG, was detained. Her operation consisted of luring pregnant women, performing illegal cesarean sections, extracting organs, and selling newborns.
Fentanyl Trafficking and Tariffs on China
When questioned about reports that China is using Venezuela as a route to traffic fentanyl into the United States, Trump confirmed that operations of this type exist, but assured that a 20% tariff is currently applied to those exports.
The president added that starting November 1, the tariff on Chinese products will be increased to 157%, a level he described as a "record," although he stated he does not wish to maintain it for long: "We do not want them to have to go through that, because it is not sustainable for them."
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