The Pentagon announced on Friday it is establishing a new counter-narcotics joint task force overseeing operations in Latin America, a move aimed to strengthen already intensifying military operations that have raised questions among legal experts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the task force aimed “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,” Hegseth said on X.
So far, the missions have focused entirely on striking suspected drug boats in the waters of the Caribbean. The U.S. military has blown up at least four so far, killing 21 people.
The U.S. military’s Southern Command, which oversees U.S. operations in Latin America, said the new task force would be led by II Marine Expeditionary Force, a muscular unit capable of rapid overseas operations, which is based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
