Since assuming office, President Donald Trump (R) has waved an aggressive hand at the border. Despite designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D) says he shouldn't use military force against the cartels in Haiti.
Haiti, which is seen as a pivot point for drug cartels, has become a focal point in the discussion of the influence drug cartels have in the Western Hemisphere. President Trump has suggested he is open to the idea of using U.S. military force against the drug cartels. However, during an interview with The Floridian, Rep. Cherfilus McCormick said that she's not on board with the idea of the president directing military force to Haiti.
Though she noted that Haiti is strategically positioned as a gateway for drug trafficking routes between Latin America and the United States, she opposes the idea of deploying American troops to Haiti, commenting that existing international efforts should instead be strengthened.
“I think that we could actually build upon what was already done,” Cherfilus-McCormick suggested. "We have other countries that have committed their troops. I don’t think there’s any need to run in and send our troops into a situation where we have an international community that is actively sending them," she added.
The Florida Democrat acknowledged the importance of addressing the cartels’ influence, but she suggested that the United States should adopt a different approach.
“Do we need to be more hands-on to make sure that we’re showing the cartels that we have a ‘no-nonsense’ policy?," she questioned. "Yes, we need to be there, and the American people need to be there, saying ‘we’re not doing this.’ But, right now, to have American troops in Haiti? There’s no need for it. We have the commitments.”
“When it comes to actually looking at who’s funding the cartels and how they’re able to be dominating the entire Latin America, Caribbean, and South America? That has to be dealt with,” she further warned.
