Hegseth Pushes Hemisphere-Wide Defense Cooperation in Washington Gathering

Washington, D.C. — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used the inaugural Western Hemisphere Chiefs of Defense Conference in Washington to deliver a simple message with sweeping implications: the hemisphere’s security problems are shared, and the response has to be shared, too.

According to the Department of War, the daylong gathering brought together defense chiefs and senior military leaders from 34 Western Hemisphere countries for a first-of-its-kind conference convened by Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The focus: regional security cooperation against narco-terrorism and other criminal enterprises, alongside a broader alignment of priorities among allies and partner nations.

Hegseth framed the goal as nothing less than “a permanent peace” across the hemisphere—then immediately tied that aspiration to operational cooperation.

“We, like you, want — and will — achieve a permanent peace in this hemisphere,” Hegseth said. “So, let’s work together [with] our militaries: exercising, training, operations, [intelligence], access, basing, overflight, you name it — let’s work together.”

“To achieve these goals, we have to stand together; there’s no other way to do it,” he added.

A doctrine-era message, updated for a cartel-era threat

The most politically charged element of Hegseth’s remarks was his explicit framing of U.S. hemispheric posture through the lens of the Monroe Doctrine—and, he said, a Trump administration corollary to it.

“The United States is asserting, reestablishing, and enforcing the Trump corollary of the Monroe Doctrine,” Hegseth said.

The Department of War story notes the Monroe Doctrine’s original intent: to declare the Western Hemisphere off-limits to new European colonization and to treat interference as hostile to the United States. At the same time, the U.S. pledged not to meddle in Europe’s internal or colonial affairs.

Hegseth argued that the modern version is “common sense”—a re-centering of American power in the hemisphere through shared priorities with partners against adversaries.

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Homeland security, border pressure, and the case for military tools

Hegseth also reiterated a core homeland-security premise of the Trump administration: that the U.S. spent too long securing other regions while neglecting security within the U.S. and across the hemisphere.

He pointed to fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs crossing the border, saying the death toll from those threats is higher than U.S. casualties in any kinetic war. He also cited illegal mass migration and human smuggling rising sharply in the years leading up to the U.S. closing its southern border last year.

Hegseth said the border closure produced the biggest drop in illegal crossings in 50 years and contributed to a significant reduction in the U.S. murder rate.

Operations Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve

The Department of War story highlights Operation Southern Spear, launched last year by U.S. Southern Command, describing it as a joint campaign to disrupt drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific—specifically through lethal airstrikes against suspected traffickers.

“Operation Southern Spear has restored deterrence against the narco-terrorist cartels that profit from poisoning Americans and killing our people and your people,” Hegseth said, adding that the number of narco-terror boats has diminished significantly since strikes began in September 2025.

Hegseth also cited Operation Absolute Resolve, stating U.S. forces last month captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The takeaway: partnership as policy, power as the guarantee

As his remarks closed, Hegseth emphasized that sovereignty and territorial integrity depend on military power—not only traditional law enforcement—and urged partner nations to deepen bonds to dismantle narco-terrorism and drug trafficking cartels across the hemisphere.

“We need to build those bonds of partnership to defeat the challenges to our security and our sovereignty,” he said. “So, as you might say, we can make the Americas great again.”

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