'Americas Counter Cartel Coalition': Inside the US strategy to combat narco terror, confront China, other foes

FIRST ON FOX: The United States is advancing a sweeping hemispheric information strategy aimed astatine dismantling transnational transgression organizations and countering the increasing footprint of geopolitical rivals crossed Latin America, according to Joseph M. Humire, acting adjunct caput of War for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs.

At the halfway of this effort is the "Shield of the Americas," a multi-layered inaugural designed to integrate military, intelligence, and instrumentality enforcement capabilities crossed spouse nations successful the Western Hemisphere.

"Shield of the Americas is simply a statesmanlike framing to signifier an confederation successful the Western Hemisphere. The Americas Counter Cartel Coalition fits wrong it, but it's not exclusive to it. We present person 18 members successful the coalition. And successful the Shield, determination are 13 countries," Humire said.

CARTELS FEAR US RETALIATION AS TRUMP-ERA PRESSURE RESHAPES STRATEGY: 'THEY FEAR THE UNITED STATES'

President Donald Trump speaks during the "Shield of the Americas" Summit astatine Trump National Doral successful Miami, Florida, March 7, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

"The proclamation that President Trump signed connected March 7, was centered astir the coalition, and the conjugation is centered astir having spouse nations successful Latin America commencement looking astatine partner-led, deterrence-focused operations against cartel infrastructure and targets wrong their sovereign territory, some connected onshore and successful the maritime territory."

Humire said, "In the past, we would supply training, capableness gathering and a clump of antithetic things to our partners truthful that they could spell aft the cartels. What is antithetic successful this medication is we are present accompanying our partners to spell aft the shared threats. In immoderate cases, we've already gotten support to bash that, similar successful Ecuador, wherever we person support from President Daniel Noboa to not conscionable counsel and assistance his subject arsenic they prosecute successful counter-narcotic violent operations, but besides travel his subject forces erstwhile they prosecute successful those operations."

A worker stands defender by a charred conveyance aft it was acceptable connected occurrence successful Cointzio, Michoacán state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, aft the decease of the person of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known arsenic "El Mencho." (AP Photo/Armando Solis)

Humire says, "The 2nd quality to erstwhile administrations is that we are leaning successful connected deterrence-focused operations, which means we are encouraging our partners to usage hard powerfulness to nonstop a awesome to the cartels to complement interdiction. We are inactive seizing narcotics. We're inactive arresting large cartel members. We are besides present destroying cartel infrastructure and, successful immoderate cases, taking retired cartel members. That's thing that is new."

Mexico

"Mexico is not a subordinate of the coalition. We are encouraged by Mexico's caller cognition against El Mencho. That was an violative cognition against a high-value idiosyncratic tied to a large cartel. We look guardant to Mexico becoming a subordinate successful the future. Our narration with Mexico is precise beardown military-wise. We person done a batch of grooming and capableness gathering with Mexico. But arsenic of today, we inactive don't person U.S. forces accompanying Mexico wrong the sovereign territory of the country," helium said.

"Mexico, similar galore countries, saw what happened successful Venezuela and present recognize that there's a spouse of penchant wrong the Western Hemisphere and successful the world, which is the United States, not China, Russia oregon Iran."

Pentagon actions nether this model see the deployment of further surveillance assets, enhanced maritime patrol operations, and the integration of cyber capabilities to way and disrupt illicit networks. It has besides prioritized capacity-building efforts to fortify spouse nations’ quality to prolong semipermanent counter-cartel operations.

CRUZ WARNED MEXICO OFFICIALS 'PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS GOING TO' ACT IF THEY DIDN'T FIGHT CARTELS

President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney clasp their countries' cards during the gully for the 2026 shot World Cup astatine the Kennedy Center successful Washington connected Dec. 5, 2025. (Stephanie Scarbrough, Pool/AP Photo)

Humire continued, "This is simply a historical effort to enactment the Western Hemisphere arsenic a apical determination precedence for U.S. nationalist information successful ways we person ne'er done before. President Trump has made a monumental displacement successful U.S. overseas argumentation and nationalist security."

Beyond cartel activity, the inaugural reflects increasing interest implicit the power of China, Russia and Iran successful the region.

Expanding Chinese infrastructure investments with dual-use potential, Iranian-linked networks tied to illicit concern and proxy activities and Russian disinformation campaigns are cardinal threats to determination stability.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Center-R) meets with Paraguay's Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano (Center-L) astatine the State Department successful Washington, D.C., connected Dec. 15, 2025 arsenic Paraguay's Minister of Defense General Óscar Luís González Cañete (L) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Americas Security Affairs Joseph Humire (R) look on. (Jim Watson/ AFP via Getty Images)

To antagonistic these efforts, the Pentagon has accrued quality practice with allied governments, expanded associated cybersecurity initiatives, and supported efforts to unafraid captious infrastructure from overseas power oregon exploitation. Military-to-military engagements person besides been scaled up to reenforce alignment with U.S. strategical priorities.

Panama

"Since Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio went to Panama past year, China has had importantly little power wrong that country. They mislaid entree to the ports and are nary longer advancing their investments," Humire said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez and Commander of the U.S. Southern Command Adm. Alvin Holsey airs during a circuit of the Miraflores Locks, successful Panama City, Panama, April 8, 2025. (Aris Martinez/Reuters)

"China besides had a batch of power implicit the Panamanian government. That power is nary more. Panama has withdrawn from the Belt and Road Initiative, becoming the archetypal state successful Latin America to bash so. From the Department of War, we person partnered with Panama to physique up an enduring beingness connected the Panama Canal which includes a jungle operations schoolhouse connected the Atlantic side, and a associated information cognition radical connected the Pacific side. This is each to beforehand information of the Panama Canal."

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Venezuela

Humire continued, "The stabilization efforts successful Venezuela are going well. Despite Maduro's precise adjacent narration with Iran, China and Russia, this was not capable to support him. In the aftermath of Operation Absolute Resolve, we person seen hostility among these antithetic outer actors, due to the fact that portion they had levels of cooperation, they don't person the aforesaid nonstop interests."

Captured Venezuelan person Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, look with their attorneys Barry Pollack and Mark Donnelly astatine their arraignment successful a national tribunal successful New York City connected Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Jane Rosenberg)

"This is evidenced by the information that before, during and aft Operation Absolute Resolve, neither Russia, China, oregon Iran, oregon adjacent Cuba for that matter, were capable to bash thing to support Nicolas Maduro successful power. They mightiness person sent immoderate instrumentality and armament, but that didn't support Maduro from that operation, and the Cuban information that was with him wasn't capable to support him. Russia, China, Iran oregon Cuba could not halt a precise palmy U.S. subject enactment successful enactment of U.S. instrumentality enforcement."

"The connection to each the countries successful Latin America, and frankly the world, is that they request to deliberation doubly erstwhile they spouse with Russia, China oregon Iran due to the fact that that concern does not nutrient results," Humire said.

Cuba

As portion of its broader hemispheric strategy, the medication is besides recalibrating its argumentation toward Cuba, viewing the land arsenic a persistent information interest owed to its ties with U.S. adversaries.

Protesters stitchery extracurricular a Communist Party office successful Morón, Cuba, arsenic a occurrence burns successful the thoroughfare during overnight unrest. Video obtained by Fox News Digital appeared to amusement demonstrators attempting to acceptable occurrence to the gathering amid protests linked to wide blackouts. (Reuters)

"The White House is starring conversations with Cuba successful the aftermath of Venezuela. Cuba was reliant connected subsidized lipid from Venezuela, successful speech for information services. But those information services didn't bash overmuch for Venezuela erstwhile it mattered, truthful I judge determination is simply a spot of a friction betwixt the Cuban and Venezuelan governments," helium said.

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"The Western Hemisphere is our neighborhood; it is intricately tied to U.S. homeland defense. Hemispheric defence is and ever has been a cardinal portion of U.S. homeland defense. Acknowledging this is wherefore the Western Hemisphere is present a apical precedence for the Trump medication and particularly for the Department of War, arsenic reflected by authoritative argumentation successful the 2025 National Security Strategy and 2026 National Defense Strategy," Humire told Fox News Digital.