Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday morning, and he gave what I’d consider a pretty decent speech that reminded the world of American exceptionalism. Heck, I think I even needed to hear it because I’ve been feeling pretty gloomy about things lately.
But my favorite part was, of course, what he said about some of the last holdouts in a nearly unified conservative Latin America: Venezuela, Mexico, and Cuba. The president made it clear that he and his team will continue changing the Western Hemisphere, regardless of what the corrupt regimes and leaders in those countries think, and, well, let’s just say it didn’t go over too well.
We’ll start with Venezuela. As we all know now, “interim president” Delcy Rodríguez is in New York for the UNGA, and she is supposed to be meeting with Trump and Marco Rubio on Tuesday for an informal pull-aside.
I didn’t love this idea initially, but after seeing her unhappy, little scrunched-up face while Trump talked about her former boss, Nicolás Maduro, I think maybe this wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. First of all, thankfully, Trump didn’t praise her as he is often quick to do when talking about a post-Maduro Venezuela. Second of all, her body language told us what we needed to know — she does so much against her will.
“We entered the Venezuelan capital, Caracas; descended on a heavily defended and fortified military base, one that was supposed to be flawless against attack; and arrested the outlaw dictator, real criminal Nicolás Maduro,” Trump said. “Since that day, hundreds of political prisoners have been freed. They’ve let them out of jails, and we’re working better with the leaders of Venezuela to forge a much better future for the Venezuelan people.”
Here’s a video of that exchange:
🚨 | Trump frente a Delcy Rodríguez:
“Entramos a una base militar que se supone que estaba fuertemente custodiada y arrestamos al proscrito dictador y criminal Maduro. Desde ese día cientos de presos políticos han sido liberados y trabajamos para un mejor futuro para los… pic.twitter.com/N4byzrPXDZ
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) September 22, 2026
Unfortunately for her, Trump and Rubio have her on a medium-sized leash (that I wish was a little shorter), so she can pout all she wants when Trump says bad things about Maduro, but she was not able to get up and leave in protest, which is exactly what the representatives of the Cuban regime did.
“My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure. The biggest pressure they’ve ever been under. It is an absolutely failed state. It is failing like never before. And it will fall,” Trump began. “Marco Rubio is handling the negotiations… we’ll see what happens.”
He continued:
We’ll not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep, right at our doorstep. The Cuban regime has also spent decades coordinating with the left-wing radicals and communist networks here in the United States. As our State Department has detailed, they have cultivated ties to subversive and radical groups such as the Communist Party USA, Antifa, and the Democrat Socialists of America.
Communism will NEVER be coming to America. But freedom will be coming to Cuba.
Here’s the video of the Cuban regime heading for the doorway:
Cuban leaders walk out of the UN General Assembly as President Trump calls them an “absolutely failed state” that “will fall.”
“My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure. The biggest… pic.twitter.com/vVhCS2Gxn4
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 22, 2026
Trump also mentioned how cartels have essentially taken over Mexico and called them the “ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.” Facts.
“[They are] not good people. They are enemies at war with civilization, using murder, rape, torture, and extortion as instruments of terror. Like ISIS, they should be killed, exiled, or detained as enemy combatants without the possibility of release, which is what we’re doing,” he said. “To that end, the United States has carried out dozens of strikes on cartel drug boats, destroying 97% of the drugs coming into the ocean and sea. You’ve seen it. They disappear very quickly.”
He continued: “Mexico is the epicenter of the cartel violence, unfortunately. It’s unacceptable for the United States to share a 2,000-mile border with a territory controlled by enemy cartels. So, Mexico must reclaim control of its soil from the enemies of humanity.”
He added that the Mexican government doesn’t want the cartels either, which I’d go out on a limb and say is only partially true. Many people in the Mexican government are bought and paid for by the cartels, so whether they “want” them is subjective.
The Mexican delegation didn’t storm out or pout, but they didn’t look particularly happy.
President Trump refers to drug cartels as the “ISIS of the Western Hemisphere”:
“The cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere. Not good people. They are enemies at war with civilization, using murder, rape, torture, and extortion as instruments of terror. Like ISIS, they… pic.twitter.com/knrmUcXLc7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 22, 2026
Later on Tuesday, Trump and Rubio plan to meet with Shield of the Americas leaders — those are the ones who are on our side and ready to join us in fighting the cartels and other adversaries and make the Western Hemisphere great again.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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