Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth has urged Latin American countries to take a more aggressive approach against drug cartels, warning in a speech at US Southern Command in Miami that America “is prepared to take on these threats and go on the offense alone if necessary.”
Hegseth made these remarks at what the Pentagon billed as the first “Americas Counter Cartel Conference,” with representatives from Argentina, Honduras and the Dominican Republic among more than a dozen conservative governments closely aligned with President Donald Trump.
Hegseth’s speech reflects an increasingly assertive tone in Washington’s approach to the issue. By stating that the United States is prepared to confront these threats “alone if necessary,” he signaled a willingness to consider stronger measures if cooperation from other governments falls short of expectations.
At the same time, his remarks emphasized that the preferred approach remains collaboration with countries across the region.
The Defence Secretary said that the US and Latin America had a shared Christian heritage and that it was at stake as a result of decades of inaction and a purely law enforcement approach to fighting organized crime and terrorist networks in the Western Hemisphere. “Business as usual will not stand,” he said, pledging US support to combat cartels, restore deterrence and “make the Americas great again.”
The Defence Secretary’s remarks come at a time when drug cartels are increasingly viewed by US officials as a security challenge that extends beyond law enforcement.
In recent years, policymakers in Washington have argued that the influence of these groups has expanded to include human trafficking, weapons smuggling, and widespread violence that affects both Latin American nations and the United States.
By framing the fight against cartels as a broader security issue, Hegseth underscored the importance the US government places on the role of military cooperation in tackling these networks.
Hegseth’s speech reinforced the importance of that cooperation while also making clear that the United States expects more decisive action from its partners.
Drug trafficking remains a persistent challenge for many countries in the region. Cartels continue to control large segments of the illegal drug trade, often operating across national borders and exploiting weak governance structures.
Their activities have been linked to high levels of violence in several countries and have contributed to broader concerns about security, governance, and economic stability.
The meetings come as as the Republican administration seeks to leverage military assets to restore dominance in the hemisphere while now also fighting a war in Iran.
When Trump took office in January 2025, he pledged a renewed focus on Latin American, a strategic pivot that his national security strategy describes as the “Trump Corollary” to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which sought to ban European incursions in the Americas.
Key to that objective is a greater reliance on the US military to neutralize drug cartels long blamed for soaring crime and murder rates that hold back Latin America’s economic potential and fuel migration to the United States.
President Donald Trump early on designated cartels from Mexico and Venezuela as foreign terrorist organizations. Later, he declared that Washington was in “armed conflict” with those groups.
For the United States, the issue also carries significant domestic implications. American officials frequently point to the influx of illegal narcotics, particularly synthetic drugs, as a major factor in public health and law enforcement challenges within the country.
The extraordinary assertion of presidential power to combat drug trafficking is at the heart of the White House’s legal rationale for dozens of strikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, so far, 44 boat strikes that have resulted in at least 150 deaths.
Miller Calls For Ruthless Treatment Of Cartels
Stephen Miller, the Deputy White House Chief of staff, who is a key architect of Trump’s aggressive stance in the region, iterated Hegseth’s stance.
“Cartels that operate in this hemisphere are the ISIS (Islamic State group) and al-Qaida of this hemisphere and must be treated just as ruthlessly.”
Stephen Miller
He added that “hard power” and lethal force, not criminal justice, must be used to repel the groups.
Miller added that the human rights “that we are going to protect are not those of the savages that rape, torture and murder but those of the average citizens.”
For Hegseth, decisive action now, whether taken collectively or, if required, by the United States itself, remains essential in the fight against organized crime in the Americas.
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