The Trump administration issued a fiery warning to Mexican drug cartels on Tuesday as hundreds of Americans remain stranded in Mexico following an explosion in violence across the country.
Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was killed Sunday during a Mexican military operation aided by U.S. intelligence. The leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had seized power following the fall of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Tourists have been ordered to shelter in place inside resorts as cartel members erect road blockades and set vehicles on fire in retaliation for the operation, officials said. The U.S. State Department has established 24-hour emergency lines to assist U.S. citizens in affected regions.
“The Mexican drug cartels know not to lay a finger on a single American, or they will pay severe consequences under this president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.”
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Leavitt confirmed that Sunday’s operation was made possible in part by U.S. intervention, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to force Mexico to dismantle drug trafficking networks.
“[The president] has made it a day one priority to target and go after these vicious drug cartels that have shipped deadly poison to our country for far too long,” Leavitt said.
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On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Since then, he has authorized a series of strikes on drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The move follows increased pressure on the Mexican government, which transferred 37 cartel members to the United States last month. The latest conflict also comes only weeks after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
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“We’ve seen the president take unilateral lethal action against drug boats sailing through the Caribbean,” Leavitt said.
“And now, of course, we are coordinating and cooperating in pushing the Mexican government to do more, to end the scourge of deadly drugs coming through our United States southern border,” she added.
