Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), joined Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during the first-ever Americas Counter Cartel Conference March 5 at SOUTHCOM headquarters in Doral, Florida, March 5, to engage with top defense and security leaders from the Western Hemisphere.
The conference, hosted by Secretary Hegseth, brought together defense and security ministers from 17 nations to achieve shared security objectives to counter Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTOs) in the region. Hegseth, along with representatives from the participating nations, signed a joint security declaration committing to expand cooperation against narco-terrorist networks and other shared threats.
"America is prepared to take on these threats and go on the offense alone, if necessary. However, it is our preference — and it is the goal of this conference — that in the interests of this [hemisphere], we all do it together; with you, with our neighbors and with our allies who are eager and willing and capable to do this," Secretary Hegseth told attendees during opening remarks at the conference.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Stephen Miller told attendees that “a criminal justice solution” was insufficient in combating narco-terrorists.
“These organizations can only be defeated with military power," Mr. Miller said. "The cartels that operate in this hemisphere are the ISIS and the Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere and should be treated just as brutally and just as ruthlessly as we treat those organizations.”
“We are not going to cede an inch of territory in this hemisphere to our enemies or adversaries,” Mr. Miller said.
During his opening remarks, Gen. Donovan shared the United States’ vision for a multilateral coalition to address shared threats. He emphasized the importance of leveraging long-standing partnerships built on trust, shared culture, history, and economic aspirations.
“As allies and partners, we must take aggressive action together, sharing the burden through cooperation,” Gen. Donovan said. “Our mutual security is at stake.”
“The time is now.”
Gen. Donovan said that SOUTHCOM’s efforts are guided by the strategic vision of “Peace Through Strength” set forth in both the U.S. National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy.
“These documents give our military a clear mandate in the Western Hemisphere: to defend the U.S. homeland and increase burden-sharing with our allies and partners to do so. We are your premier partner to work with -- by, with, and through your nations to achieve shared objectives,” Gen. Donovan said.
The general also outlined SOUTHCOM top priorities: countering DTOs and expanding regional partnerships to counter shared threats.
“Narco-traffickers and drug cartels engage in campaigns of terror, violence, and corruption to enrich themselves and expand their insidious influence,” Gen. Donovan said. “They are poisoning and killing the citizens of all our nations. These sophisticated networks flood our streets with fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs that kill at a higher rate than any conventional war. This is the single gravest threat to security in our region and across our hemisphere.”
Gen. Donovan pointed to the successes of Operations Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve as evidence of the United States’ commitment to security in the Western Hemisphere.
“When necessary, we will not hesitate to act,” Gen. Donovan said.
“Through these efforts, the United States is combating narco-terrorism and drug trafficking – and, most importantly, restoring deterrence. The Western Hemisphere is our neighborhood and the narco-terrorists who seek to export drugs and death to our shores and your shores will be dismantled and defeated,” he said. Gen. Donovan concluded by calling for unity among partner nations to confront these shared challenges.
“Today marks the next step towards moving out to deter and defeat those who threaten the security, stability, and prosperity of the United States and this hemisphere,” Gen. Donovan said. “We all face these threats and the most effective way to counter and eradicate them is by standing together.”
USSOUTHCOM is one of the nation’s six geographically focused unified commands with responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as security cooperation with defense and public-security forces in the region.