At a security conference at U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth laid out a hardline approach to cartel violence and foreign influence in the Western Hemisphere, arguing the region must be secured with military force where necessary and that no territory will be ceded to adversaries.
The event ahead of the Shield of the Americas Summit centered on coordinated responses to cartels and narco-terrorism across the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, with defense leaders from a wide range of nations in attendance. Speakers framed the threat as both criminal and military, saying traditional law enforcement has not been enough to stop groups that operate like paramilitary forces. The administration’s message was clear: sovereignty and order have to come first before broader prosperity can follow. That priority guides the new posture being promoted across allied capitals in the hemisphere.
Miller did not soften his language when describing the stakes, framing cartel networks as more than criminal syndicates and comparing them to international terror organizations. He said bluntly, “We are not going to cede an inch of territory in this hemisphere to our enemies or our adversaries!” That line set the tone for a series of remarks that tied homeland security to regional control and emphasized a willingness to use force to prevent hostile actors from establishing safe havens.
“We are not going to cede an inch of territory in this hemisphere to our enemies or our adversaries!”
“Our national security, our homeland security, the safety and well-being of our people begins at home, begins in our neighborhood, begins in our home region.”
“And for too long, we have allowed foreign enemies, foreign adversaries, and enemy terrorist organizations to control territory and spaces in this hemisphere where they can project power, project threats, and directly threaten the lives of your citizens and our citizens.”
“And so, under the leadership of President Trump, we are using hard power, military power, lethal force to protect and defend the American homeland.”
“Not a single one of your nations should tolerate the existence of a single square mile of territory that is under the control of any entity other than the sovereign governments of your country! ”
“The idea that we would have in this hemisphere areas that are under the physical control of foreign terrorist organizations, paramilitary organizations, is completely unacceptable!”
“The cartels that operate in this hemisphere are the ISIS and the al-Qaida of the Western Hemisphere.”
That rhetorical framing led directly to the argument that military options must be on the table to dislodge entrenched criminal power. Miller argued that decades of law enforcement efforts have shown limits: “What] we have learned, after decades of effort, is that there is not a criminal justice solution to the cartel problem.” The implication was that treating these organizations solely as crime problems ignores the violent, territorial control they exert, and the administration aims to address that gap with coordinated military pressure.
“There are elements of the problem that require a criminal justice solution, to be sure, but just as we fought al-Qaeda and fought ISIS with the tip of a very lethal spear, the reason why this is a conference with military leadership and not a conference of lawyers is because these organizations can only be defeated with military power.”
“And I see some heads nodding up front because they understand. You’re dealing with a lot of lawyers in your own country, I’m sure. You have my permission NOT to listen to them!”
“The key condition of human flourishing, of prosperity, is order and security.”
The remarks also pressed a conservative argument about the sequence of state-building: secure territory first, then pursue higher civic goods. Miller pointed to historical examples where violent actors were removed and order allowed societies to prosper, saying centuries of history show order as the precondition for freedom and prosperity. He warned that ignoring basic security advice leads to long-term failure and used Europe as an example of what happens when nations do secure themselves first.
“There have been centuries of previous history in which ruthless means were used to get rid of the people who were raping and murdering and defying established systems of order and justice. And then, when people could live freely and peaceably — and children and families and women could be safe — then it became possible to pursue all of these higher elements of life.”
“So, when people who are coming to countries like yours that have had struggles and difficulties and pains and challenges, and they’re telling you anything other than first and foremost, secure your countries and your territory, they’re giving you not only terrible advice, but advice — if someone had come to Europe centuries ago and they had followed that advice, Europe would have never became the Europe that it eventually became.”
“And the reason why many Western countries are struggling today is they’ve forgotten the eternal truth and wisdoms they once followed. And that’s why here under President Trump in America, we are returning to those fundamental truths.”
Both Hegseth and Miller framed the administration’s policy as a modern enforcement of hemispheric sovereignty, a return to principles that prioritize security over permissiveness. They signaled a willingness to coordinate with regional militaries to deny cartels the territorial control that enables cross-border threats. The speech made clear this approach will be a central pillar of the upcoming Shield of the Americas Summit and of U.S. engagement in the hemisphere going forward.
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