Hegseth: US prepared to launch unilateral Military operations on 12 South American Countries

[Polds4OSU]

Pentagon hints at military action as Hegseth issues ultimatum to Latin American allies​

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a warning to Latin American leaders on Thursday, stating that the United States is prepared to launch unilateral military operations across more than a dozen countries if local governments fail to dismantle drug cartels.

Speaking at the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference in Miami, Hegseth told a gathering of regional officials that the era of treating organized crime solely as a policing issue is over.


He emphasized that the Trump administration now views these networks as direct threats to U.S. national security and border integrity, declaring that the U.S. is “prepared to take on these threats and go on the offense alone if necessary.”

The conference, hosted at the U.S. Southern Command, brought together representatives from conservative governments including Argentina, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. Hegseth’s remarks underscore a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy that officials are calling a modern revival of the Monroe Doctrine.

By labeling cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, the administration has cleared a legal path for the U.S. military to target traffickers directly. This policy has already been put into practice, with the Pentagon confirming dozens of recent strikes against smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.


During his address, Hegseth argued that decades of previous strategies have allowed criminal networks to expand, ultimately fueling mass migration and regional instability.

While he noted a “common heritage” between the U.S. and its neighbors, he made it clear that American patience regarding border security has reached a limit.

Several Latin American presidents who sent delegations to the summit are expected to meet with President Trump at his Florida golf club later this week to further discuss these military cooperatives.

The administration maintains that this aggressive stance is the only way to crush the violent groups responsible for the current surge in crime and displacement across the Western Hemisphere.

 

[Polds4OSU]

Stephen Miller tells Latin America: Military force is the only way to defeat cartels​

MIAMI, March 5 (Reuters) - White House official Stephen Miller told a gathering of Latin American military leaders on Thursday that drug cartels can only be defeated with military force.

The comments make explicit a shift in U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, whose administration has blown up suspected drug boats, seized the president of Venezuela in January and aided Mexico last month in its operation to capture that country's most wanted cartel boss.


"We have learned after decades of effort that there is not a criminal justice solution to the cartel problem," Miller, the White House homeland security adviser, told Latin American defense leaders gathered at the U.S. Southern Command headquarters.

"The reason why this is a conference with military leadership and not a conference of lawyers is because these organizations can only be defeated with military power."

Legal experts and Democrats have questioned the legality of the U.S. strategy, disputing the Trump administration's policy that equates drug traffickers with members of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and Islamic State.

'JUST AS BRUTALLY'

Miller said there was no difference, adding that drug cartels "should be treated just as brutally and just as ruthlessly as we treat those organizations."

The U.S. policy has unnerved some traditional U.S. military partners in Latin America, including Colombia, which did not send a delegation to the gathering. Brazil and Mexico also did not send delegations.