Secretary of War Pete Hegseth headed to Doral, Florida, Thursday to host the first Americas Counter Cartel Conference at U.S. Southern Command Headquarters. The American-led meeting of more than 18 Caribbean countries aims to create a coalition to combat narco-terrorism and protect the entire Western hemisphere.
The DOW posted on its official website the concerns of the Trump administration:
Narco-terrorism is a threat shared by all Western Hemisphere nations. For decades and across many administrations, narco-terrorists and cartel thugs have trafficked fentanyl and other deadly drugs freely across borders, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. This organized crime ring presents an extraordinary threat to the security and prosperity of the Western Hemisphere.
The old ways of doing business by ignoring drug cartels and tolerating violence are over, Hegseth said. It’s time to remember the Monroe Doctrine, which former President James Monroe adopted in 1823, that said any attempts by foreign countries that tried colonize or interfere with the business of Western Hemisphere governments would not be tolerated.
.@SECWAR “President Monroe declared, ‘We should consider any attempt by malign countries to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.’
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
It was the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. And today, some two hundred years later, we still marvel… pic.twitter.com/ln54oZ7Zty
It was the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. And today, some two hundred years later, we still marvel at the wisdom of President Monroe’s declaration.
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The status quo is no longer, Hegseth warned:
.@SECWAR “In your countries, many leaders accepted the status quo—to coexist with narco-terrorism or for a a law-enforcement-alone approach that FAILED to deter and dismantle threats...
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
The result of this collective neglect was FATAL.
More than one million Americans were killed… pic.twitter.com/a3K6yvO6Xj
More than one million Americans were killed by fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs—numbers greater than any casualties we’ve sustained in war.
He made sure he got the other countries to put their full support in writing:
.@SECWAR has just signed the Americas Counter Cartel Conference Joint Security Declaration. pic.twitter.com/UXcFUtC3Za
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
The notable countries that were not invited: Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The DOW has not issued a full list of nations in attendance, but it's widely reported that Argentina, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic made the cut.
Hegseth stressed that the countries that were there shared a common heritage and common interests:
.@SECWAR “All the nations represented in this room are offspring of Western civilization.
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
Our nations are and always will be united by our heritage, history, and geography in this New World. We share the same interests, and because of this, we face an essential test.
Whether… pic.twitter.com/dO0ivfYQ5g
Whether our nations will be—and remain—Western nations with distinct characteristics—Christian nations under God.
If you wondered why you’re not reading as many stories about the U.S. blasting smuggling boats out of the water these days, it’s because it’s now hard to find targets, according to the secretary:
.@SECWAR “Operation Southern Spear has restored deterrence against the narco-terrorist cartels that profited from poisoning Americans.
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
Last month, we went a few weeks without targeting a single boat. Why?
Because we couldn’t find a whole lot of boats to sink.” pic.twitter.com/5Z0xnzkwJL
The Trump administration is taking the war on the cartels seriously in a way we haven’t seen from previous administrations. It’s about time we took the battle to the bad guys, instead of waiting for them to bring it to us, and that’s exactly what Hegseth is doing.
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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