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Top US military leaders are hosting more than 30 countries in Washington as the Trump administration seeks to deepen security cooperation across the Western Hemisphere, setting priorities. border controldrug trafficking and regional threats from global enemies.
“To put America First, we must put the Americas First,” said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to Joseph Humire, Acting Secretary of the Army for Defense and America.
NORAD AIRCRAFT WILL ARRIVE IN GREENLAND FOR ROUTINE TESTS
“We must work together to prevent any adversary or criminal actor from exploiting your territory or using your infrastructure to threaten what the great former president of the United States, Teddy Roosevelt, once called ‘eternal peace on this earth.’
The meeting, called by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Dan Caine, comes amid a broader national security strategy that puts more emphasis on threats closer to home: from fentanyl pipelines and transnational criminal networks to Arctic competition and instability in Venezuela.
This conference also coincides with the US’s countermeasures Mexican cartel drones breached an American airfield near El Paso, Texas.
An administration official told Fox News that “Mexican drones have violated US airspace. The Department of Defense has taken action to ban drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hosted a meeting of Western Hemisphere defense chiefs in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily restricted flights entering or leaving El Paso International Airport for what it described as “special security reasons.” Government officials did not release details of the operation, but an administration official said the operation was directly related to anti-drone measures along the southern border.
The incident underscores the growing use of unmanned systems through social networks and the growing overlap between traditional crime and homeland security concerns – a theme that is expected to come up in discussions among defense leaders in Washington.
Top military leaders from Denmark, Britain and France, countries with a western hemisphere, have also been invited, according to the New York Times.
FAA WARNS FOR INTERNAL, SOUTH AMERICAN AND EASTERN PACIFIC FLIGHTS, RECOMMENDING NON-IMPORTANT ‘FACE OPERATIONS’.
Gen. Francis Donovan, the new chief of the Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, is expected to press his regional colleagues to strengthen cooperation against drug trafficking organizations and international criminal groups that operate across borders and increase advanced technology. US officials have warned that cartel networks are using drones, encrypted communications and sophisticated smuggling methods to transport drugs and workers.
The video shows a strike by a narco-terrorist vessel in international waters from Wednesday, December 31. The strikes come amid military pressure on the region following high-level security operations. (US Southern Command via X)
Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, head of the US Northern Command, which leads his country and the north of US Defense. including Greenlandit is reportedly expected to address border control and the integration of advanced sensors in all domains of air, land, sea and space.
Arctic security is also likely to feature heavily in discussions. The administration has pointed to expanding Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic as a long-term strategic concern and has emphasized the importance of Greenland’s missile warning position, access to the sea and valuable mineral resources.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was kidnapped by the US military in January in a coup and is now facing drug-trafficking charges in the United States. The capture has reshaped US security negotiations in the Western Hemisphere. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
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The summit comes after the dramatic capture by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in early January after months of anti-drug strikes.
As the hemisphere’s security landscape continues to change, defense officials and regional allies alike will be watching to see how other governments with hostile policies toward the US respond to Washington’s growing stance.
