Trump Insists Land Strikes Against Drug Traffickers Coming Soon, Rambles About Gulf of Mexico

ByMexico Solidarity

This article originally appeared in the January 21, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

US President Donald Trump reiterated yesterday that his military will begin ground operations to combat drug trafficking organizations, and insisted that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the “Gulf of America,” even jokingly suggesting that he considered naming it the “Trump Gulf.”

“We have designated the Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and the Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. We have hit them hard. They have seen what we have done on the water. We are beginning to do it on land,” the tycoon stated at a conference held to mark the first anniversary of his return to the White House.

On another topic, Trump said, “Why is it called the Gulf of Mexico? It should be the Gulf of America… I was going to call it the Gulf of Trump, but I thought they’d kill me if I did. I wanted to do it, but I decided against it. Just kidding… it sounds good, though. Maybe we could do it… It’s not too late.”

He stated that “for the first time in half a century” the United States is experiencing changes in migration trends and that “more people are leaving than entering.”

Trump also asserted that he has no interest in speaking with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured and taken to New York amid bombing raids by U.S. forces in Venezuela on January 3. “I think my lawyers wouldn’t be happy.”

He indicated that he would “love” to involve opposition leader María Corina Machado in the transition in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and described her as “an incredibly kind woman.”

When asked how far he would go in his attempt to seize Greenland, Trump simply replied: “They’ll see.”

Regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he stated: “I believe we will find a solution that will leave NATO very satisfied, and us as well,” and reiterated that the alliance without Washington’s support “is not very strong.”

He announced that he would not attend a G-7 meeting this Thursday in Paris, to which he was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron, because Macron “will not be in power much longer,” and boasted that his proposed Peace Council for Gaza “could replace” the United Nations, which, he asserted, “has not been very helpful.”

“They should have resolved all the wars that I resolved. I never called on them. I never even thought about it. They should be able to resolve those wars, and they don’t,” the president asserted.