Nearly 20 Latin American and Caribbean nations joined the United States on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in signing an agreement to combat groups described as “narcoterrorists.” The pact, formalized at the inaugural ‘Americas Against the Cartels’ conference in Miami, comes as the U.S. Increases pressure to disrupt drug trafficking networks. The agreement underscores growing regional concern over the influence of powerful criminal organizations.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth read the joint declaration, which “reaffirms the relationships” between Washington and its neighbors, “respecting sovereignty” and “recognizing the strategic importance of the hemisphere,” where they seek “to promote peace through strength.”
“And declares our intention to expand multilateral and bilateral cooperation to improve security in the hemisphere, cooperate on governmental border security efforts, combat ‘narcoterrorism’ and drug trafficking, securing critical infrastructure and other areas to be determined,” Hegseth added.
The agreement commits the nations “to address future threats to mutual interest and unite to combat ‘narcoterrorism’ and other shared threats,” according to the Secretary.
Hegseth led the conference at the headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) in Doral, Florida, bringing together representatives from nearly 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
Aligned Governments
The conference, which included governments “with like-minded ideas” and excluded nations such as Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, is a precursor to the ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit that U.S. President Donald Trump will host on Saturday in Miami with right-leaning Latin American leaders.
The head of the Pentagon warned that Washington is prepared to launch a military “offensive” against the cartels independently, urging Latin American countries to combat “narcoterrorists.”
Stephen Miller, Trump’s national security advisor, called for fighting drug traffickers as if they were terrorist groups like the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda, and also asserted that illegal immigration is a “form of terrorism.”
The meeting follows days after the first joint military operation between the United States and Ecuador against “narcoterrorist” organizations in the South American country, following a visit from Francis Donovan, commander of Southcom.
the Trump administration has reportedly bombed 44 vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Pacific and Caribbean since last September, resulting in at least 150 deaths, under the operation ‘Southern Lance.’
ct (efe, afp)
