Trump Recruits 'Sprawling Military Alliance' of Latin American Allies to Take on Drug Cartels
President Donald Trump’s dream of a Western Hemisphere with America in control is moving forward.
Last year, Trump issued the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, which included in part, working with Latin American governments to fight back against powerful transnational drug cartels.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal, that collaboration is working.
Ecuador has attacked drug lords along its border with Colombia. Colombia recently hunted down the leader of a drug-smuggling network.
“A sprawling military alliance that reaches from the Caribbean across the Andes to the Pacific is taking shape a year after the Trump administration began bombing alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region,” the outlet noted.
The report noted that U.S. “intelligence, equipment, and surveillance technology” is flowing to allied nations as they take the fight to drug kingpins.
This past week, Peru joined the Shield of the Americas anti-drug network after a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as noted by Reuters.
SECRETARY RUBIO in PERU: For us to confront transnational criminal groups, we need to do it inside the sovereign territory of countries. We want to partner with those countries. It’s in their interest to do it. That is why we have the Shield of the Americas. pic.twitter.com/zwY6OcZvCh
— Department of State (@StateDept) September 10, 2026
Rubio said U.S. involvement in the region “is not a favor.”
“It is essential to our own security, to our own prosperity, to our own well-being in America. And this administration is committed to this,” he added.
“God willing, it will expand to even more countries,” Rubio said of the alliance, according to The Wall Street Journal. “There are criminal groups today that have more money and better military equipment than the military forces of a state.”
Rubio noted while making a visit to Ecuador that the U.S. is not afraid to get in anyone’s face.
“We’ll still blow up ships if need be,” Rubio said.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said his nation is eager to increase its arsenal to fight drug lords.
“The threats of the 21st Century require new capabilities. Criminals who don’t submit will be taken down,” he said.
In Colombia, U.S. forces provided intelligence that helped Colombia take down criminal leader Nain Perez, who taunted the government on social media. A Sept. 4 raid killed Perez, his girlfriend, and two members of his cartel.
As drug lords fall, America is closer to achieving the vision outlined in the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy.
“The United States must be preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity — a condition that allows us to assert ourselves confidently where and when we need to in the region. The terms of our alliances, and the terms upon which we provide any kind of aid, must be contingent on winding down adversarial outside influence — from control of military installations, ports, and key infrastructure to the purchase of strategic assets broadly defined,” the document said.
“American policy should focus on enlisting regional champions that can help create tolerable stability in the region, even beyond those partners’ borders. These nations would help us stop illegal and destabilizing migration, neutralize cartels, near-shore manufacturing, and develop local private economies, among other things,” the document added.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
