Critical function, which is getting spent fuel rods out of and into a storage challenge, s a major the hink all much, nk you very everybody. Thank you. So america continues to wager war to defeat the virus, this horrible, horrible virus. You see how terrible it is, at the ly when you look numbers from yesterday. I will explain why we are extending our nationwide guidelines to slow the spread. We have the power to save countless lives we are ttacking the for our workers, rapid medical very serious and innovation and banning dangerous foreign travel that threatens people, and weour did that far earlier than anyone and way aheadught of anybody else. In this time of need, i know will do y american their patriotic duty and help us achieve a total victory. As governments and nations focus coronavirus, theres a growing threat that cartels, and other terrorists, malign actors will try to their the situation for own gain, and we must not let that happen. Never let that happen. Today the United States is counter enhanced narcotics operations in the to protect sphere the American People from the deadly scourge of illegal narcotics. We must not let the drug cartels to threatenpandemic american lives. 22 ooperation with the partner nations, u. S. Southern ommand will increase surveillance, disruption, and seizures of drug shipments and support for ional eradication efforts, which are going on right now at a record pace. Deploying Additional Navy destroyers, combat ships, helicopters, coast guard cutters, and air force surveillance aircraft, doubling capabilities in the region. Very importantly, our forces are equipped with personnel protective equipment, and weve taken additional Safety Measures our troops remain healthy. Esper, attorney general bill barr, National AdvisorRobert Obrien will provide more details. Going to have am general who has done an incredible job in so many ways and, also, with, of Naval Operations admiral gilde, who you know. You know. And commandante, admiral schultz. Going to ask mark to start, and then we can go, and after that were going to take it pertains to this, and then well go on to the virus which is itself. Okay . Thank you. Please, mark. Mark thank you, mr. President , and good afternoon, everyone. I appreciate the opportunity to we make this as very important announcement. At a time when the nation and the department of defense are protecting the American People from the spread of the coronavirus, we also vigilant to the many other threats our country faces. Today at the president s direction, the department of cooperation ose with our interagency partners began enhanced counter narcotics operations in the eastern ocean and the caribbean sea. His initiative is part of the administrations hall of government approach to combatting the flow of i will lift drugs into the United States and protecting the American People from their scourge. I want to thank all of our to ners in this effort include the United States coast guard, the department of homeland security, the Drug Enforcement agency, the justice, and members of the Intelligence Community for their tremendous and cooperation. To conduct these enhanced operations the president has directed the deployment of additional ships, aircraft, and forces to the united tates Southern Command area of responsibility. Included in this package are Navy Destroyers and combat ships, coast guard cutters, p. A. And elements of an Army Security force brigade. Ce these Additional Forces will nearly double our capacity to narcotics nter operations in the region. Additionally, 22 partner nations have joined us in this fight to bring with them a variety of intelligence and operations theselities needed defeat criminal organizations. Last year alone United StatesSouthern Commands operations seizure of over 280 metric tons of drugs, much which was designated for shipments to america. While this was an incredible achievement, theres much more done. To be Transnational Criminal Organizations continue to hreaten our security by smuggling cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs our borders. This puts our communities at risk and destroy lives. Every year tens of thousands of americans die from Drug Overdose more suffer the harmful effects of addiction. Actors like corrupt the odoro regime rely on profits derived from the sale of narcotics to maintain their oppressive hold on power. The people suffer tremendously due to his criminal control over the country. Traffickers are seizing on increasing ness by their elicit activities. Counter narcotics operations will further disrupt the flow of drugs to america, eny our adversaries the Financial Resources they depend on, and build the capacity of our partner nations throughout the region. I want to thank President Trump for his leadership and support this critical mission. This is particularly important time for this operation to begin. World ons around the shift their focus inward to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, organizations are attempting to capitalize on this crisis. The enhanced operations we are today will keep the pressure on these criminal groups and protect the american from the devastation caused by the flow of Illegal Drugs into our country. Mr. President , thank you for leadership as we begin this important operation. While the men and women of the United States military work hard here at home to fight the coronavirus, we continue to take world to und the defend our great country. Hank you, and i would like to invite general millie you, secretary, for those words, and thank you, mr. President , and i would like the commander of the u. S. Southern command out of miami for leading this operation which is effective today. Admiral gilde, chief naval peration admiral schultz for their contribution and from their services. Here are thousands of sailors, coast guardmen, soldiers, airmen, marines involved in this operation. We came upon some intelligence sometime ago that the drug cartels as a result of covid19 to try to take advantage of the situation and try to infiltrate additional country. O our 7,000 americans die on an average annual basis to drugs. Thats unacceptable. Were at war with covid19. Were at war with terrorists, nd we are at war with the drug cartels as well. This is the United States military. You will not penetrate this country. You will not get past jump street. You are not going to come in here and kill additional americans. Whatever assets are required to prevent your ntry into this country to kill americans. Right now the navy has marshalled additional ships from com, and ucom, and they are the ail already and are in caribbean right now. In addition there are ten coast cutters along with air force reconnaissance aircraft. The bottom line is youre not through. Get now is not the time to try to penetrate the United States of Illegal Drugs to kill americans. With the United States military, we will defend our country regardless of the cost. President. Mr. Hank you, secretary. For your thank you support for this important theiative, and thank all of secretary of defense and all the this es for taking on important initiative. Obviously, during this crisis all else focused above at the same time our Law Enforcement and National Security work must go forward rotecting the American People from the full array of threats. Justice, epartment of one of our highest priorities ust remain destroying the mexican cartels. Their trafficking is largely deaths, as for the we all know now, of 70,000 a year and, also, the costs of this dont count the the oyed families, destroyed lives, the draining of our national treasure, state are crushed by the urden that this narcotic trafficking causes. We are not interested in half measures. Cartel at posed by the is not just a Law Enforcement security t a National Threat as well. On your er building success with the president and forging cooperative relationship in the area of immigration, you sked me to go down and meet with the president and our mexican counterparts to see if also establish a more comprehensive and coordinated ffort with the mexicans in confronting the cartels. Successful visits and discussions, and currently ave an array of activities cartels andinst the we anticipate along with the mexicans that this is going to ago. Fruit in the months it became clear that we can obtain the most immediate for the the best bang buck, where we increase the ssets involved in interdiction on both the pacific and atlantic mexico and the Central American countries. Cartels have been using the c roots to take the from principally columbia and out of venezuela, sea routes on both coasts have become the primary up to f bringing cocaine the United States. Because of the superb work, we time xactly most of the where these traffickers are at sea. Significantly we have been up until now significantly limited to our ability to interdict because of the numbers we have deployed. Limitation are the that we could only intercept a raction of the traffickers that and the various boats that were detected. His will now double our capacity, and we are talking tons of dreds of a aine now that were now in position to seize. Its going to save lives by street. Drugs off the last week i announced the nsealing of charges of narcoterrorism Drug Trafficking nd other crimes against the former modero regime, 16 members of that regime, and their of lvement in trafficking 250 metric tons a year. A lot of that comes by sea, as i discussed at that time. Because of that pressure were pplying by our sea interdiction, they are trying to establish an air route out of up into central america, which is one of the reasons were trying to move that corrupt regime. At times weve taken our eye off the ball. Fortunately, not in this administration, and im grateful that you, mr. President , have to this fight and the determination to use whatever tools are necessary to win the fight. Defeated,s have to be both for the people of this country and for the people of and venezuela. Would like to thank you, again, mr. President for providing the wherewithal equired to help win this war against the cartels and others to send elicit drugs into our country. With that i would like to ambassador obrien. Thank you. Todays action is another example of the bold leadership of President Trump and his the tment to protecting homeland against threats who seek to destabilize the united western d our hemisphere. The uncontrolled flow of illegal rugs into the United States poisons our communities, fuels the dangerous epidemic of addiction, and threatens the security of all americans. Coast ressive u. S. Navy guard Army Marine Corps air force and interagency operation threats ess a range of to our National Security posed traffickers and narco terrorists. It will list Financial Support for Drug Trafficking that moduro the corrupt regime in venezuela and other bad actors with the funds to connect their maligned activities. Nder President Trumps leadership we will continue to execute our maximum pressure olicy to counter the regimes malign activities, including trafficking. This will help to choke off the funds that go to that corrupt regime. Narco terrorists, and criminals should make no mistake that even as we are working the d the clock to fight spread of coronavirus, we will present to execute the counter narcotics strategy. We are working on a number of important National Security this ties as we face Public Health crisis. The United States will continue to combat this information and news about this virus. We will work with the worlds producers to address volatility and global oil markets. We will always protect our and Service Women around the world, including in iraq and afghanistan. The American People to know that President Trump and their esident pence and administration are working tirelessly every day to protect he health and wellbeing of americans and respond to the coronavirus. Our adversaries should take this president as a cleareye focus on americas National Security interests, and let me be clear, it would be a mistake, a mistake consequences, for any adversary to attempt to do s harm during this Health Crisis or ever for that matter. Thank you very much. President . Mr. So do we have any questions on this because this group is back to work . Question for you, mr. President , or secretary esper. Has changed that is allowing these assets to be deployed now, whereas general barr said in the past they were not available . President trump for a long time weve had a lot of drugs into our country, and its not that its increased. Weve probably got it down a but its still a tremendous number. Families are being ruined. Are being ruined. Thing. N incredible especially if you are in this position, would you never believe. I see things that nobody would believe. That nobody would believe. I met with the group behind me, all of them, and we said what do do, and i think they can interdict. They think that we can stop it the shores, s to all overre coming from the place. We have incredibly talented team. I think im going to give mark a little bit of an answer to that, but we just want to see if we can stop a good percentage of drugs coming into ow country the president has given us clear guidance on whats important to him and protecting the American People, and as some you know, i began a review months ago looking at all of our combat and ographic commands and looking to where we can can free up time, money, and esources to put into other endeavors. Scrutinized our inventory fairly closely. Chairman milly did a great deal of work on this, but and with gilde, and we felt there was no risk to our fleet, to the operations to free up, in this case, naval ships. We also freed up aircraft, and other assets to apply them to and,president ial priority, of course, the coast guard did the same. It was a very good operation. Very important to the American People and completely in line with the residents direction how long will you be able to tempo . P this operational we will assess it after a matter of time, and then well make adjustments from there. Decrease or se or sustain asis. This will be an assessment we will do as an Interagency Team nd report back to the president , and well take guidance from there. President trump it will have an impact on the virus because to get in,ple trying and now we have a new phenomenon, and thats at least the next hopefully short period of time, the virus, so well be able to have an impact on that too, please . Mr. President , could you expand on that a little bit . You tie it to covid19 saying hat these drug cartels were taking advantage of the situation of this pandemic. How exactly well, because were focused on so many other parts of the country, and even parts of the a sudden areasof where we had it clamped down pretty tight, in all fairness, wall is up to about 160 miles already, and any areas that wall for the most part it contiguous. We have fillins, but were up 161 miles exactly place you have that wall other than walking around, its stopping everybody cold. When nobody g has seen anything like it. Thats how good it works. The other side knew it worked well. Everybody. Everybody was bored four to five years ago. Changed. Sudden it its having a tremendous impact. Focused on so many different things. Now we have to focus on drugs from e drugs come in different methods, and we have the best people in the world, and well have an tremendous impact on drugs. Things, well er think, ve an impact, we on the virus yeah, please obrien, china report the number of cases and the death toll from the coronavirus . Case, ts the mr. President , what does that mean for our relationship with with and your relationship president xi . Well, number one, i think the president has a great relationship with president x like to have a great relationship with china. Unfortunately, we are just not in a position to confirm any of the numbers that are coming out china. Theres no way to confirm any of those numbers. Theres lots of public reporting numbers are too low. Youve got access to those reports that are coming out of chinese social media and some of the few reporters that we have no way to those numbers. Thank you . We really dont know. Other a great call the night. Were working together on a lot of different things, including trade. Theyre buying a lot. Spending a lot of money. Theyre giving it to our farmers are. Theyre paying our farmers for product. Were going to continue that tweeted earlier today that there was you have uncovered there is agence that sneak attack being planned against american troops, iraq. Can assets in are we talking about hezbollah again . Information that they were planning something, information. Y