US urges Latin America to use military force against drug cartels

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth warned Latin American countries that "business as usual will not stand," pledging US support to combat cartels, restore deterrence and "make the Americas great again." PoliticsUnited States of AmericaUS urges Latin America to use military against drug cartelsJenipher Camino Gonzalez with AP and Reuters03/05/2026March 5, 2026Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth warned Latin American countries that "business as usual will not stand," pledging US support to combat cartels, restore deterrence and "make the Americas great again."https://p.dw.com/p/59snBThe Trump administration views the Western Hemisphere as the most important region for US foreign policy Image: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo/picture allianceAdvertisementUS Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday met with representatives of several Latin American countries to discuss US security goals, saying that drug cartels must be targeted more aggressively. The meeting comes as the Trump adminstration has pledged a renewed focus on Latin American, which it has described as the "Trump Corollary" to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which back then sought to ban European incursions in the Americas. The Pentagon-dubbed "Americas Counter Cartel Conference," was attended by representatives from Argentina, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, along with over a dozen conservative governments closely aligned with President Donald Trump.  Notably, some of the region's most influential nations like Colombia, Brazil and Mexico did not send delegations to the summit. Those three countries have left-leaning governments.  The gathering took place at the US Southern Command headquarters in Doral, Florida. Hegseth warned that "business as usual will not stand," pledging US support to combat cartels, restore deterrence and "make the Americas great again." "America is prepared to take on these threats and go on the offense alone if necessary," Hegseth warned. He also added that the US and Latin American countries shared a Christian heritage that is allegedly at stake, blaming decades of inaction and a purely law enforcement approach to fighting organized crime and terrorist networks in the Western Hemisphere. White House pushes for 'military power' Attendees cheered as the US promised to make available resources to Southern Command, which oversees US forces in Latin America, after years of complaints over a lack of resources. White House Homeland Security advisor and close Trump aide, Stephen Miller, attended the gathering and told attendees that drug cartels can only be defeated with military force. "We have learned after decades of effort that there is not a criminal justice solution to the cartel problem," Miller said. "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," he added. Miller said there was no difference between terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda or the "Islamic State" and drug cartels, saying they "should be treated just as brutally and just as ruthlessly as we treat those organizations." Trump invokes Monroe Doctrine in Maduro captureTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video"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," he added. Edited by: Wesley Dockery Send us your feedbackYour feedbackAdvertisement