“The cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere—not good people,” he said. “Like ISIS, they should be killed, exiled, or detained as enemy combatants without the possibility of release, which is what we’re doing.”

But while these messages are largely meant to promote the very strength that Trump relies upon in his endeavors, the potency of his remarks may be dwindling amid contested claims of success.

Venezuela is Trump’s ‘peace through strength’ model. But Iran is testing its limits

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, tells TIME that Trump’s speech seems “consistent with the narrative of American…

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