Donald Trump threatens to bomb Mexico and Colombia and says he’d be ‘proud’ to do it
Donald Trump appears to have once again risked triggering an international incident, as he casually hinted at being open to sending military strikes to Mexico and Colombia to combat drugs coming into the United States.
The US president made the controversial statements on Monday (November 17) during a press conference with FIFA President Gianni Infantino ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
"Would I launch strikes on Mexico to stop drugs? It's OK with me. Whatever we have to do to stop drugs. Mexico is... look, I looked at Mexico City over the weekend. There's some big problems over there," Trump began.
"If we had to would we do there what we've done to the waterways? You know there is almost no drugs coming through our waterways anymore. Isn't it down like 85 percent?"
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He continued: "We have almost no drugs coming into our country by the sea. You know, the waterways. And you know why? OK it's pretty obvious. Would I do that on the land corridors? Look, every boat we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives - not to mention the destruction of families. These families are decimated forever. The mother, the father, the children, they never recover from it.
"Do I feel the same way about the corridors they use? We know every one of them. We have every one of those corridors under major surveillance."
Trump later added: "Colombia has cocaine factories where they make cocaine. Would I knock out those factories? I would be proud to do it personally. I didn't say I'm doing it, I would be proud to do it."
Since coming into office for a second term, Trump has continually pledged his support to battle drug trafficking, including allowing the Department of Defense to carry out boat strikes in the Caribbean on vessels they claim were smuggling drugs.
However, despite their claims, no evidence to prove the allegations has ever been found, and so far over 80 people have been killed in the strikes.
Monday’s meeting comes around two weeks before the all important World Cup Draw, which will determine which nations face off against each other at next year’s highly anticipated soccer event.
The US, Canada and Mexico will host the international tournament when it kicks off in June next year, with the majority of the games, including the final, set to take place on US soil.
Infantino’s visit to the White House comes after the FIFA boss had previously expressed his support and admiration for Trump in a speech that may land him in hot water.
"He does things. He does what he says. He says what he thinks. He actually says what many people think as well, but maybe don't dare to say and that's why he's so successful," Infantino remarked.
He added: "I have to say it and I'm a bit surprised sometimes when we read some negative comments. I'm not American, but as far as I understand, President Trump was elected in the United States of America and was quite clearly elected.
"When you are in such a great democracy as the United States of America, you should first of all respect the results of the election, right?"
In addition to his high praise, Infantino also created FIFA's Peace Prize, with many speculating that Trump has been tipped as the first recipient, just weeks after the president had lost out on the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Under FIFA’s current governing rules, Infantino’s comments may breach its code of ethics, which prevents members from taking sides in politics.
Topics: Donald Trump, Mexico, US News
Phoebe Tonks