Donald Trump labels Mexico the epicenter of cartel violence

During a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump identified Mexico as the ‘epicenter of cartel violence’ and called on the Mexican government to regain control of its territory.

Journalist Carolina Rocha has challenged this characterization, arguing that the definition of an epicenter should refer to the origin of a phenomenon. Rocha stated that the drug trade cannot be understood solely through the lens of production in criminal territories, emphasizing that the massive demand for narcotics within the United States is a fundamental driver of the market. She noted that without the high demand in the U.S., the supply from criminal groups would not exist, suggesting that the true epicenter of the addiction epidemic lies in the consumer market.