“Shield of the Americas” Has Declared War on Drug Cartels
In early March 2026, at the initiative of the United States, a multinational organization called the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (ACCC) (unofficially known as “Shield of the Americas”) was established, bringing together 12 South American countries [1] and the USA to fight drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere. The emergence of this organization marks an intensification of the fight against drug trafficking and increased pressure on Mexico to comply with the USA’s demands for more decisive action in this sphere.
During the organization’s inauguration, US President Donald Trump stated that Latin America’s [2] enormous potential can only be realized if drug cartels and other organized criminal groups are defeated, adding that “the only way to defeat these enemies is to deploy the full might of our armed forces”.
To fight the growing threats to the security of democracies in the region, the signed agreements provide, among other things, for: the use of lethal military force, including the use of missiles; intelligence operations (with an emphasis on the exchange of biometric data on suspects); and the creation of joint task forces between US intelligence agencies and local security forces. Only the heads of states where right-wing parties are in power participated in the summit. Representatives from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay were absent; their center-left presidents belong to the São Paulo Forum [3].
The Drug Trafficking Situation in the Region
Drug trafficking is not only a business that generates enormous profits, but also a form of war, as it kills people – especially young people – through overdoses. By relying on armed groups to ensure its security, it breeds violence, destroys the economy, takes over businesses of all kinds, and forces entrepreneurs to launder money. Drug trafficking corrupts politicians, finances election campaigns, buys votes, and promotes a hedonistic [4] culture, encouraging drug use.
The new US National Security Strategy [5] differs significantly from the previous policy of Democratic President Joseph Biden, whose administration proposed fighting drug trafficking exclusively through law enforcement measures.
In Latin America, drug traffickers exploit institutional weaknesses to corrupt government authorities and ultimately control them, as happened in Venezuela with the “Cartel of the Suns”, and to some extent in Colombia and Mexico with the “Gulf Clan” [6] and the “New Generation of Jalisco” drug cartel [7].
The funds generated by the drug trade exceed the annual budgets of some Latin American countries. According to former US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Martin Rodilla, the “Cartel of the Suns” has amassed $2.7 trillion. To launder drug proceeds, this drug cartel sent invoices from the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA and even bought a bank. By comparison, the 2025 budget for Latin America’s largest country, Brazil, was $1.2 trillion, while that of the smallest country, El Salvador, was just $11 billion.
The “New Generation of Jalisco” has paramilitary groups that are more powerful than some of the region’s national armies. They are equipped with the same firearms as the Mexican Armed Forces, military-grade tactical gear, rocket launchers, armored vehicles, drones, and other advanced military technologies.
Illegal drug trafficking in Latin America and Islamic fundamentalism are closely linked. According to a UBN report, the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, the de facto leader of the “Cartel of the Suns”, has turned Venezuela into a base of operations for Iranian narco-terrorism on the continent. The Venezuelan regime not only financed Islamic terrorism but also supplied uranium for the Ayatollahs’ nuclear program and served as a safe haven for Hezbollah and Hamas militants.
Besides, Chinese drug trafficking networks have become the primary suppliers of precursor chemicals to Mexican cartels that produce both methamphetamine and fentanyl. The US Department of the Treasury warned in August 2025 that Chinese money laundering networks were moving billions of dollars through US financial institutions on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.
The Donald Trump administration decided to designate several Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, asserting that international drug cartels pose a threat to national security that exceeds the threat from traditional organized crime [8]. Their activities include: collaboration among themselves and with a range of extraregional actors (from terrorist organizations to foreign governments hostile to the USA); complex adaptive systems characteristic of actors engaged in insurgency and asymmetric warfare; infiltration of foreign governments throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Based on all these factors, the USA has concluded that drug cartels pose a significant threat to peace, stability, and democracy in Latin America.
Left-Wing Political Forces and the Drug Trade
It is clear that the White House decided not to invite left-wing Latin American governments to join “Shield of the Americas”, given the historical ties between Marxist regimes and the drug trade [9].
As analyst Joseph Douglas pointed out in his book “Red Cocaine: The Drugification of America and the West”, the drug problem in the United States and other Western countries was (and remains) not merely a matter of crime or social ills, but also part of a deliberate strategy by countries such as the former Soviet Union (now Russia) and China. According to the author, the main goal of this “drug subversion” was to undermine the moral spirit of Western society, destroy its institutions, corrupt the government, and incapacitate the working-age youth, thereby making Western countries easier to control. What Joseph Douglas asserted in the 1990s is now becoming a proven reality.
In Latin America, narco-terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (also known as the FARC) and the National Liberation Army have gradually transformed into cocaine cartels. In 2008, the Colombian government, led by former President Álvaro Uribe, carried out Operation “Phoenix” [10], which resulted in the death of FARC Deputy Commander Raúl Reyes. Information was found on his confiscated computers not only regarding the FARC’s ties to drug trafficking but also regarding its ties to most of the leaders of the São Paulo Forum.
The case involving the Venezuelan regime is the most scandalous, given its association with the “Cartel of the Suns”, but it is not the only one. President of Colombia Gustavo Petro [11] is under criminal investigation by two US federal prosecutors’ offices. Investigators are looking into, among other things, his possible meetings with drug traffickers and whether he accepted donations from them during his presidential campaign.
According to a journalistic investigation by ProPublica, the US government has prepared a series of sanctions, visa revocations, and financial blockades against Mexican politicians allegedly linked to drug trafficking. These measures will directly affect members of the ruling left-wing National Regeneration Movement party, including state governors and individuals close to former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and current President Claudia Sheinbaum. For instance, Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya is accused of protecting the interests of the powerful “Sinaloa Cartel” and aiding it in smuggling drugs into the USA, for which the politician allegedly received millions of dollars in bribes. In May 2026, due to serious charges brought by US prosecutors, he was forced to temporarily step down from his position as governor.
Why Is Such a Continental Military Alliance Needed?
Given that the United States has classified international drug cartels as a “threat to national security that goes beyond traditional organized crime”, and considering both the vast resources and the advanced weaponry at their disposal, it is impossible to defeat these cartels at the national level using police measures alone [12]. A continental military alliance is necessary, as well as the most advanced technologies, including satellite surveillance, which only the United States can provide.
The case of Nicolás Maduro, one of the most heavily guarded men in the world, illustrates this point. It was an operation like “Absolute Resolve” that made it possible to arrest him and bring him to justice. Only the United States has such capabilities.
Another high-profile case is that of the late leader of the “New Generation of Jalisco” drug cartel, Nemesio Oseguer Cervantes (known as “El Mencho”), one of Latin America’s most wanted criminals. Without US intelligence, it would have been extremely difficult for Mexican authorities to track him down and apprehend him [13].
In Ecuador, too, the fight against drug trafficking is finally beginning to yield positive results thanks to cooperation with Washington.
The establishment of a continental military alliance against drug trafficking was made possible by the region’s political shift to the right. This partnership was launched with the opening on March 5, 2026, of a conference on fighting drug cartels at the headquarters of US Southern Command, attended by the region’s defense ministers. At the conference, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth called on Latin American countries to adopt a more aggressive approach to this fight.
Based on an analysis of the situation following the creation of “Shield of the Americas”, Western experts have developed several possible scenarios for future developments.
The most likely scenario: a reduction in drug trafficking under the Donald Trump administration. As long as he remains in the White House, the fight against drug trafficking will intensify throughout Latin America, particularly in Mexico. Even though the country is led by left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum, she is forced to yield to the USA’s pressure regarding the fight against drug cartels, as was the case with “El Mencho”.
The expected victories of right-wing forces in the elections in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil are expected to increase the number of participants in “Shield of Americas”. As a result, the influence of drug cartels will gradually weaken, which will have a positive impact on the region’s security and economy. There is currently a two-year window of opportunity to transform the new anti-drug paradigm into long-term state policy.
A less likely scenario: The US Congress restricts military action against drug traffickers. In the US midterm elections in November 2026, Republicans lose their majority in the House of Representatives and, possibly, in the Senate as well. Democrats decide to limit the President’s authority to deploy the armed forces, forcing him to seek congressional approval, arguing that the fight against drug trafficking should be led by law enforcement agencies, not the military. As a result, the US Army is forced to suspend operations in the region.
President Donald Trump continues to provide valuable intelligence to his Latin American allies to help them in their fight against drug cartels, albeit without the USA’s military support. Drug trafficking and related violence are on the decline, but the process is proceeding more slowly. Drug lords are deciding to wait it out until there is a change in administration in Washington.
Volodymyr Palyvoda,
expert in international relations
Notes:
[1] Countries included in the “Shield of the Americas”: Argentina, Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile.
[2] South America is a geographical continent, whereas Latin America is a cultural and historical region encompassing countries where Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French) predominate. This region begins immediately south of the United States.
[3] The São Paulo Forum is a conference of left-wing political parties and organizations from North and South America, primarily Latin America and the Caribbean. The Forum was established by the Brazilian Workers’ Party in 1990 in the city of São Paulo. Currently, the following countries are governed by leaders and member parties of the Forum: Brazil, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, and Uruguay.
[4] Hedonistic (from the Greek hēdonē, meaning “pleasure”) refers to something that seeks pleasure, focusing on obtaining pleasure and avoiding suffering. This pursuit can apply to both everyday life and an entire philosophical or ethical system.
[5] The US National Security Strategy was released on December 5, 2025. This document demonstrates a sharp shift toward a maximally pragmatic approach in the spirit of “America First”. The USA equated the illicit trafficking of fentanyl with weapons of mass destruction, and transnational drug cartels were declared major threats to national security. President Donald Trump’s administration has established the right to carry out preemptive military strikes against drug cartel infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere.
[6] The “Gulf Clan”, also known as the Guaitanist Self-Defense Forces (GSF) of Colombia, formed from the remnants of the Colombian guerrilla paramilitary movement and became the dominant criminal force in Colombia. The GSO is primarily involved in transnational drug trafficking.
[7] For more details on this and other Latin American drug cartels, see the article “The Drug Trade as a Tool of Geopolitical Destabilization” // https://igp.org.ua/publikacii/narkobiznes-yak-instrument-geopolitichnoї-destabilizaciї/
[8] In February 2025, the USA added eight drug cartels from Venezuela, El Salvador, and Mexico to this list. Regarding this decision, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated that she rejects any violation of her country’s sovereignty if Washington resorts to extraterritorial actions. However, she is prepared to continue joint investigations.
[9] Historical links between Marxist regimes and the drug trade arose primarily as a means of political survival or to finance guerrilla wars (the so-called anti-imperialist struggle), rather than for ideological reasons. This turned some leftist movements into “narco-states”. For example, in the 1980s, when Nicaragua was in a state of economic isolation and civil war against the “Contras”, some representatives of the pro-communist government used the country’s logistics corridors to transport drugs for Mexican cartels in exchange for cash and support for the regime. During the same period, the Cuban government, in exchange for financial aid and weapons for leftist rebels (such as the “M-19” in Colombia), allowed Colombian drug cartels (Pablo Escobar included) to use its territory and airspace to transit cocaine to the United States. In 1989, following an international scandal, Fidel Castro’s regime staged a show trial and sentenced several high-ranking generals to death by firing squad to distance itself from the drug trade.
[10] Álvaro Uribe, whose father was killed by FARC militants, is accused of collaborating with right-wing paramilitary groups to destroy leftist rebel groups. The former President himself denies this allegation.
[11] During his student years, Gustavo Petro joined the ranks of the radical leftist guerrilla group “April 19 Movement” (M-19). He was involved in military and political activities and became one of the group’s leaders. In 1985, he was arrested for illegal possession of weapons and sentenced to 18 months in prison. After his amnesty, he helped form the political party “Democratic Union M-19”. In 2022, he won the presidential election and became the first left-wing politician to lead Colombia.
[12] On May 5, 2026, Donald Trump approved a new US Counterterrorism Strategy, which cemented the shift from a criminal justice to a security-based approach in countering drug cartels. The use of intelligence, financial, military, and counterterrorism tools against them is authorized. The USA’s strikes on so-called “narco-terrorist” vessels in the Pacific Ocean serve as a practical illustration of both the effectiveness of this approach and its legal vulnerabilities, which critics highlight.
[13] The governments of the USA and Mexico offered rewards of up to $15 million and 300 million pesos, respectively, for information leading to the arrest of “El Mencho”. On February 22, 2026, he was taken into custody by the Mexican army during a security operation in the city of Tapalpa, but later died from injuries sustained in a shootout while being transported to Mexico City.
