US President Donald Trump formally launched the America's Counter-Cartel Coalition (ACCC) on Saturday, March 7, 2026, during the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, describing it as a historic military alliance to combat transnational criminal organizations and restore security across the Western Hemisphere.
Addressing leaders from several Latin American and Caribbean nations—including Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, and Chilean president-elect Jose Kast—Trump emphasized that conventional law enforcement is inadequate against the scale of cartel violence. “The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” he stated. “You have to use your military. You can’t fight these people with just police.”
The coalition, endorsed by at least 17 participating countries according to reports, aims to deepen military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and joint operations among partners to target groups involved in drug trafficking, extortion, murder, torture, bribery, and terror. Trump highlighted Mexico as the “epicenter of cartel violence,” accusing Mexican cartels of fueling regional instability and bloodshed. He pledged US support for partner nations requesting assistance, while urging stricter regional measures: “The savages who murder and rape with impunity must be permanently removed from society.”
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reinforced the message, calling the ACCC “a force for good, for peace through strength in this hemisphere.” The initiative builds on prior Trump administration actions, including joint US-Ecuador operations against narco-terrorists and a US-led task force aiding Mexico's hunt for cartel leaders.
Trump drew parallels to the US-led coalition against ISIS in the Middle East, vowing a similar approach: “Just as we formed a coalition to eradicate ISIS in the Middle East, we must now do the same thing to eradicate the cartels at home.” He invoked a “Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine,” signaling zero tolerance for hostile foreign influence—particularly from adversaries like China—in the Americas.
The summit also addressed recent US actions in Venezuela. Trump referenced Operation Absolute Resolve in January 2026, a precision raid that captured former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas after an 18-minute operation with no US casualties. Maduro, indicted on narcoterrorism and drug charges, was extradited to face trial in New York. Trump praised interim President Delcy Rodríguez for cooperating closely with Washington, including a “historic gold deal” enabling joint sales of Venezuelan minerals and oil privatization efforts. He noted ongoing work to lift sanctions on oil trade and release political prisoners under the new leadership.
Trump described the coalition as essential amid large swaths of territory falling under cartel control, where criminal networks sometimes rival national militaries in power. “Leaders in this region have allowed large swaths of territory in the Western Hemisphere to come under the direct control of transnational gangs,” he said. “These brutal criminal organizations pose an unacceptable threat to national security.”
The announcement comes amid Trump's broader foreign policy focus on the Western Hemisphere, even as the US engages in the ongoing US-Israeli campaign against Iran. At the summit, Trump characterized strikes on Iran as “a service that we're really providing, not for the Middle East, but for the world,” framing them as a global security contribution.
The gathering, hosted at Trump National Doral Golf Club with participation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem (now Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas), and other cabinet members, aligns with the 2025 National Security Strategy's emphasis on countering foreign interference, criminal networks, and mass migration. While supportive governments from countries like Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Paraguay have joined, major players such as Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil were notably absent from related preparatory events like the Americas Counter Cartel Conference earlier in the week.
Critics have raised concerns over the militarization of anti-drug efforts and potential sovereignty implications, evoking historical US interventions in Latin America. However, Trump concluded optimistically: “With the courage and resolve of the leaders in this room, we’ll make our nations safer, stronger, richer and more successful than ever before.”
The ACCC represents a significant escalation in US-led regional security cooperation, prioritizing lethal military force against cartels amid rising narco-violence and geopolitical rivalries in the Americas.
