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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday announced the creation of a new “counter-narcotics Joint Task Force” which has been ordered to “crush the cartels” believed to be smuggling drugs into the United States that are operating out of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Defense for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The Donald Trump administration has vowed to crackdown on drug smuggling into the U.S. Drug overdoses were responsible for 105,000 deaths across the country in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The creation of a new task force indicates the administration could step up military operations against cartels following a series of airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats off the coast of Venezuela that have killed at least 21 people.
What To Know
On Friday, Secretary Hegseth wrote on X that “at the President’s direction” the Pentagon had launched a new “counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to crush the cartels, stop the poison and keep America safe.” The U.S. Southern Command covers the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
According to a press release published by the U.S. Southern Command, the new task force combines personnel from the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) “with Joint Force and U.S. interagency partners, represented by the Homeland Security Task Force.”
Lt. Gen. Calvert Worth, commanding general of II MEF, has been appointed as the new Joint Task Force’s commander
The U.S. Southern Command press release said the new Joint Task Force would have a number of responsibilities including “identifying narcotics trafficking patterns to interdict illegal shipments of narcotics before they reach the U.S.,” intelligence fusion between the U.S. military and federal law enforcement and “enhancing partner-nation counter narcotics operations.”
In recent weeks, the U.S. military has redeployed significant resources to the Caribbean sparking speculation strikes could be launched against suspected cartel targets in Venezuela, though the Venezuelan government has accused Washington on intimidation and “military harassment.”
Trump has labeled a number of drug-trafficking groups as terrorist organizations and informed Congress the U.S. is in a state of “noninternational armed conflict” against them. According to the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank over 10 percent of deployed U.S. naval assets are now operating under the U.S. Southern Command in the Caribbean, the highest level since the Cold War.
What People Are Saying
Hegseth wrote on X : “At the President’s direction, the Department of War is establishing a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in the @SOUTHCOM area of responsibility to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe. The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold.”
Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said: “Transnational criminal organizations threaten the security, prosperity, and health of our hemisphere.
“By forming a JTF [Joint Task Force] around II MEF headquarters, we enhance our ability to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit trafficking networks faster and at greater depth—together with our U.S. and partner-nation counterparts.”
Lt. Gen. Worth commented: “This is principally a maritime effort, and our team will leverage maritime patrols, aerial surveillance, precision interdictions, and intelligence sharing to counter illicit traffic, uphold the rule of law, and ultimately better protect vulnerable communities here at home.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the creation of a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force, and the U.S. military buildup, will lead to an intensification of the Trump administration’s anti-cartel campaign amid speculation airstrikes could be extended to the Venezuelan mainland.
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