U.S. Warns Latin America It Is Ready to Launch Solo Offensive Against Drug Cartels

Miami, Florida — U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned Latin American governments on Thursday that Washington is prepared to launch a unilateral military offensive against drug cartels, urging them to combat what he called “narco-terrorists.”

“The United States is prepared to address these threats and go on the offensive alone if necessary,” Hegseth declared in his opening speech at the Americas Against Cartels conference. “However, it is our preference and the goal of this conference that, in the interest of the neighborhood, we do everything together with you, with our neighbors and allies.”

The official led the inaugural conference at the headquarters of U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) in Florida, where he reaffirmed that President Donald Trump’s new Monroe Doctrine or ‘Donroe’ justifies military attacks against drug traffickers in Latin America.

Hegseth demanded that invited representatives—military and security officials from most countries in the region, with exceptions including Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil—must “go on the offensive against narco-terrorists.”

“We have barely begun working with you. You must do more and we must do more to attack narco-terrorist groups in all areas,” he said. “We will dismantle narco-terrorist networks in this hemisphere and deny access to state adversaries that support them.”

The conference comes days after the first joint military operation between the United States and Ecuador against “narco-terrorist” organizations in the South American country, following a visit this week by Francis Donovan, commander of Southcom.

Additionally, the Trump administration has bombed 44 vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Pacific and Caribbean since last September, resulting in at least 150 deaths under Operation ‘Southern Lance.’

“We are your primary partner to work, together and through your nations, to achieve shared goals, but when necessary, we will not hesitate to act,” warned Commander Donovan.

Hegseth justified the actions by citing that “more than 1 million Americans” died from fentanyl, cocaine, and other drug overdoses during the administration of Joe Biden (2021-2025), while the human trafficking industry “exploded” by two thousand percent to a value of $13 billion in 2022.

Although the Americas have one-eighth of the world’s population, they account for one-third of violent crimes, Hegseth noted.

“This is an operational conference to bring our countries closer to a shared objective and do it aggressively,” the secretary commented. “It is not a one-way street; every partner in this region has to do more and invest more in security as well.”

Hegseth scheduled another conference for Thursday afternoon in Tampa, in central Florida, to discuss Iran at Central Command (Centcom).