U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized on the 22nd (local time) that core resources in the Western Hemisphere, such as energy and rare earths in Latin American countries, must not fall under the influence of external powers.

Speaking at the "Shield of the Americas" event—a U.S.-led security cooperation body for Latin America held at the UN headquarters in New York—President Trump stated, "The resources of the Americas must always belong to the people of the Americas."

He continued, "We must secure control over our own energy pipelines, rare earths, and agricultural trade routes," adding, "The United States wants to actively cooperate with you to achieve this goal and make all of our nations strong."

Mentioning the vast natural resources held by member states of the "Shield of the Americas," President Trump asserted, "We must not allow them to be taken away by hostile external powers. If that happens, you will no longer have a country."

President Trump's emphasis on control over strategic resources like energy and rare earths while mentioning "hostile external powers" is interpreted as an intention to keep in check the expanding influence of out-of-region competitors, including China, in Latin America.

The "Shield of the Americas" is a security cooperation body launched by President Trump last March to jointly respond to transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels in Latin America, with a majority of right-leaning governments participating.

President Trump's proposal of cooperation extending beyond drug cartel responses to include energy, critical minerals, and agricultural supply chains is also seen as a vision to expand the "Shield of the Americas" into a comprehensive economic and security cooperation framework for the Western Hemisphere.

President Trump repeatedly emphasized his determination to crack down on drug cartels.

Addressing the member states, he said, "You can eliminate them yourselves. That is much better," while adding, "If you cannot do it, we will do it for you."

In addition, he told the leaders of the member states, "There has been a big change in your countries. A major shift to the right," adding, "This is a good thing."

This is believed to refer to the successive establishment of right-wing governments in various Latin American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, and Honduras, following the launch of the second Trump administration.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)