US compares cartels to terrorist groups and defends armed conflict against drug traffickers

A White House official stated this Thursday (5) that the fight against drug cartels in Latin America requires a military response and cannot be resolved through the justice system alone. The statement was made by Stephen Miller, internal security advisor to Donald Trump’s government, during a meeting of military leaders from the region held at the headquarters of the United States Southern Command, in Miami.

According to Miller, decades of policies based on criminal investigations, arrests and judicial cooperation have failed to decisively weaken drug trafficking networks. In the advisor’s assessment, transnational criminal organizations operating in the region should be treated in a similar way to groups considered terrorists by the United States, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. For him, the only way to defeat these groups would be through the direct use of military force.

The statements reflect a change in strategic orientation adopted by the Trump administration. In recent months, Washington has expanded the use of military and security instruments against drug trafficking. Among the recent measures cited by authorities are operations against vessels suspected of transporting drugs, support for Mexican actions to capture cartel leaders and the arrest, in January, of the president of Venezuela in an operation led by US forces.

Miller stated that cartels should be confronted “with the same brutality” applied by the United States in combating extremist organizations. The comparison generated criticism from legal experts and Democratic Party parliamentarians, who question the legality of equating drug traffickers with groups classified as terrorists and warn of the risk of expanding the use of military force outside North American territory.

The meeting in Miami brought together military chiefs from several countries in the region, but some nations traditionally close to Washington did not send representatives, including Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. The absence was interpreted by analysts as a sign of caution given the new approach advocated by the White House.

US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, also participated in the event and stated that he intends to reinforce operational cooperation between the region’s armed forces to combat drug trafficking. He promised to increase resources allocated to Southern Command, responsible for United States military operations in Latin America, although the structure also needs to compete for troops, ships and aircraft with Washington’s other strategic priorities, such as the ongoing conflict with Iran.

According to Ryan Berg, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the idea would be to bring together governments aligned with the United States to structure new forms of regional cooperation. A recent example cited was the sending of US military support to Ecuador in the fight against drug trafficking.

The meeting also precedes an Americas summit to be held in Miami this weekend, organized by Trump. The meeting is expected to include discussions on regional security and China’s growing economic influence in Latin America. In recent decades, several countries on the continent have started to consider Beijing their main trading partner, which has generated concern in Washington.

The Trump administration has already indicated that it intends to revive the so-called Monroe Doctrine, a 19th century policy that defended the Western Hemisphere as an area of ​​influence for the United States. During the conference, Hegseth even joked that the strategy could be called the “Donroe Doctrine”, in reference to the president’s surname.