Trump insists cartels are running Mexico' and announces ground operations: We are going to start hitting land'

"Molly Riley (White House) Donald Trump remains obsessed with drug trafficking despite having decapitated, according to himself, one of the world's largest drug trafficking organizations with the arrest of Nicolas Maduro in a lightning military operation in Venezuelan territory. The U.S. president stated in an interview on Fox News with host Sean Hannity: We have knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water. We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels."

"The president often uses that figure to refer to overdose deaths in the United States, although most of the deaths are due to fentanyl or other opioids, which are mainly manufactured in Mexico with chemical components imported from China. The United States has declared war on drug trafficking. Last summer, it launched Operation Southern Spear and deployed a large military contingent to the Venezuelan coast, with more than 14,000 troops and a fleet of warships, the largest deployment in the region in decades."

The U.S. president announced plans to begin ground operations targeting cartels after claiming 97% of drugs entering by water have been stopped. He did not specify locations, leaving unclear whether operations would occur in Venezuelan territory, Mexican soil, or elsewhere. He asserted that cartels control Mexico and cited a repeated figure of 250,000300,000 annual deaths attributed to drugs, though most U.S. fatalities stem from fentanyl and other opioids manufactured in Mexico with precursors from China. The United States launched Operation Southern Spear last summer, deploying over 14,000 troops and warships and conducting maritime strikes that reportedly destroyed about 30 vessels and killed more than 110 people. Those strikes proceeded without court orders or congressional mandates, raising questions about legal authority and the scope of future land-focused actions.

Read at english.elpais.com