Trump at the UN: Accuses Mexico of Being the “Epicenter” of Drug Trafficking, but Highlights Progress with Its Government

ByJim Cason and David Brooks

This article by Jim Cason and David Brooks originally appeared in the September 22, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Washington and New York. President Donald Trump reiterated in his speech before the United Nations that Mexico is “the epicenter” of drug cartel violence in Latin America, that the Mexican government has ceded control of its territory to the cartels and, shortly afterward, his White House warned that if Mexico does not take action to confront this, the United States will be forced to do so (without defining exactly what it would do).

It is unacceptable for the United States to share a 2,000-mile border with a territory controlled by the cartels. Mexico has to take back control of its land from the enemies of humanity.

Donald Trump, before the UN General Assembly

The president repeated his “unprecedented” successes in the fight against drugs, declaring that the cartels are “the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere” whose members must be treated as “terrorists,” and stated that Mexico “is the epicenter of cartel violence.”

Perhaps seeking to soften the impact of his message, he emphasized that “I am proud to tell you that we have a very good relationship with the Mexican government. We have taken great steps, very great steps, with Mexico. They don’t want the cartels either. And when that day comes, the whole region will be a better, safer and more beautiful place in which to live and prosper.”

Although Trump frequently improvises during his speeches, including occasions when he has voiced criticisms of Mexico that were not in his prepared text, his words today included very specific phrases designed to increase the pressure on the Mexican government. Less than an hour after his speech before the UN, the White House “drug czar” Sara Carter offered more details about what her government wants from the Mexican government in this area.

“I think the United States is working very closely with our Mexican counterparts, and I know that,” Carter commented in a social media message this morning. “If there are politicians who are working with the cartels, whether in Mexico or even in the United States, if we find out about it we will go after them and hold them accountable for it.”

She added that “this is a very important part of what our government is doing. President Donald Trump has made it very clear that our government will no longer sit back and allow these cartels to operate with impunity. Part of that is holding accountable the people who are working with the cartels.”