One thing the Donald Trump administration has focused on from day one is going after one of the biggest cancers in the Western Hemisphere: the cartels. Whether it's designating them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, killing or jailing their leaders, or blowing up their little narco-boats in the Caribbean Sea, we've seen some major action take place over the last year and a half.
And now it looks like we're ramping that up. Let's take a look at what's happening.
Earlier this week, SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan announced that Southern Spear would come to an end, but never fear — he's replacing it with something much more interesting and aggressive: Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM).
JTF-WHEM is described as SOUTHCOM's new "action arm" that will "synchronize U.S. military operations with allies and partners to counter threats, strengthen regional security, and respond rapidly to crises across the Western Hemisphere."
The new task force will integrate "military capabilities with the 18 partner nations of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) to increase operational effectiveness against threats that undermine regional security and impact the United States and partner nations. The task force also strengthens SOUTHCOM’s ability to respond quickly to contingencies and humanitarian crises throughout the region."
"JTF-WHEM strengthens our ability to work alongside trusted allies and partners, synchronize military capabilities and apply sustained pressure against the networks that threaten our collective security," Donovan said in a statement. "Together, we are increasing security across the hemisphere and protecting our homeland."
He continued: "Purpose-built and task-organized, this headquarters brings together tailored military capabilities and trusted partnerships to increase total systemic friction, operational tempo, impose sustained pressure on criminal organizations and strengthen the security of the United States and our partners. Together with the 18 nations of A3C, we are changing the way we confront these threats."
JTF-WHEM is taking the fight to the enemy.
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) August 4, 2026
“Along with our Americas Counter Cartel Coalition partners, we will locate, close with, and destroy the enemies that threaten our hemisphere.” — #SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan@DeptofWar @SecWar @The24MEU @USMC @USNavy… pic.twitter.com/k60WWBWOcf
This is what it looks like when an administration recognizes the real threats we face here at home and in our own backyard and partners up with our allies to confront them.
But wait, there's more.
On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice has unsealed indictments against five Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) leaders: Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez (former son-in-law of "El Mencho"), Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán (El Mencho’s godson), Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, Julio César Montero Pinzón, and Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela. Some will also be elevated to the FBI's Most Wanted list.
In case you forgot, "El Mencho," who was the cartel's leader, was killed in a raid in February, a move that led to chaos in parts of Mexico. CJNG is widely considered one of the two most powerful Mexican cartels, one of the most violent cartels period, and one of the biggest organized crime threats to the United States.
New Charges and Rewards Announced for the Capture and/or Conviction of Senior Leaders of Notorious Mexican Cartel: More than $100 Million Offered for Information Leading to the Arrests and/or Convictions of Eight CJNG Fugitives
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) August 5, 2026
“The American people gave us a mandate to keep this… pic.twitter.com/5fb5ezY7lA
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced rewards under the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP) and Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) totaling $102 million for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions, in any country, of eight leaders and associates of CJNG. He's also "imposing visa restrictions on 65 individuals and revoking 26 visas of family members and associates of persons linked to the cartel."
The United States is hunting down, dismantling, and destroying Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. @StateDept is offering rewards totaling over $100 million for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of their leaders and associates. We are also imposing visa…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 5, 2026
Let there be no mistake: We will eliminate the narco-terrorist organizations threatening our country and the American people. We are offering rewards totaling over $100 MILLION for info leading to the arrests and/or convictions of CJNG leaders and associates.… pic.twitter.com/l8Sa7J8dxO
— US Dept of State INL (@StateINL) August 5, 2026
I know it's easy to dismiss some of this as same story, different day kind of talk, but here's what's different this time: Aside from the fact that Trump and his team are actually treating Central and South America as relevant — as should have been the case with every administration all along — this is no longer unilateral action.
I've written at length about how the Americas (minus Canada, the lost cause) have taken a swing to the right over the last few years. The people of most of Latin America are sick of violence and crime, largely brought about by these cartels and other organized terrorist groups, and they're electing leaders who are hardliners against it. It's the Nayib Bukele effect. They saw what he did in El Salvador and said, "Hey, can we have some of what the Salvadorans are having?"
The fact that Trump and Rubio are now offering the United States' support has made this movement even stronger. Right now, we have great things happening with our partners in Paraguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, etc. Now that we hold a whole lot of Venezuelan leverage, we're even seeing some cooperation there, and I think we'll see much more of that in the months and years to come, once there is a democratically elected leader.
Peru's newly inaugurated president has promised a renewed partnership with the U.S. in the battle against narcos and organized crime. On Friday, Colombia will have a new president who promises to be extremely tough on crime in a country where so much of crime and narco-activity in the region originates. That's how he sort of came from nowhere as the "outsider" to get elected.
I'll name just a couple of examples of how this is going from this week alone. Last year, Costa Rica amended its own Constitution to allow the extradition of its own citizens who are wanted in the United States. This week, we cleared the final hurdle to extradite Gilbert Hernán Bell Fernández, aka "Macho Coca," a major cocaine trafficker wanted in New York.
On Tuesday, several members of the House of Representatives sent Rubio a letter, asking him to make Ecuador a Major Non-NATO Ally, which would give Ecuador better access to U.S. defense equipment, training, and counter-terrorism tools, so it can hit the cartels harder on its own territory. Over the last six or eight months, we've seen the country go extremely hard after the narco-criminals and terrorists within its borders, particularly those along the one it shares with Colombia, and President Daniel Noboa is ready to keep that up and do what he can to make his country great again. He just needs some extra assistance.
Of course there are still problems in the region, but the architecture required to finally fight the cartels is coming together in ways it never has before, and it's becoming more permanent and multinational.
