FIRST ON FOX: The United States is advancing a sweeping hemispheric security strategy aimed at dismantling transnational criminal organizations and countering the growing footprint of geopolitical rivals across Latin America, according to Joseph M. Humire, acting assistant secretary of War for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs.

At the center of this effort is the "Shield of the Americas," a multi-layered initiative designed to integrate military, intelligence, and law enforcement capabilities across partner nations in the Western Hemisphere.

"Shield of the Americas is a presidential framing to form an alliance in the Western Hemisphere. The Americas Counter Cartel Coalition fits within it, but it's not exclusive to it. We now have 18 members in the coalition. And in the Shield, there are 13 countries," Humire said.

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"The proclamation that President Trump signed on March 7, was centered around the coalition, and the coalition is centered around having partner nations in Latin America start looking at partner-led, deterrence-focused operations against cartel infrastructure and targets inside their sovereign territory, both on land and in the maritime territory."

Humire said, "In the past, we would provide training, capacity building and a bunch of different things to our partners so that they could go after the cartels. What is different in this administration is we are now accompanying our partners to go after the shared threats. In some cases, we've already gotten permission to do that, like in Ecuador, where we have permission from President Daniel Noboa to not just advise and assist his military as they engage in counter-narcotic terrorist operations, but also accompany his military forces when they engage in those operations."

Humire says, "The second difference to previous administrations is that we are leaning in on deterrence-focused operations, which means we are encouraging our partners to use hard power to send a signal to the cartels to complement interdiction. We are still seizing narcotics. We're still arresting major cartel members. We are also now destroying cartel infrastructure and, in some cases, taking out cartel members. That's something that is new."

"Mexico is not a member of the coalition. We are encouraged by Mexico's recent operation against El Mencho. That was an offensive operation against a high-value individual tied to a major cartel. We look forward to Mexico becoming a member in the future. Our relationship with Mexico is very strong military-wise. We have done a lot of training and capacity building with Mexico. But as of today, we still don't have U.S. forces accompanying Mexico inside the sovereign territory of the country," he said.

"Mexico, like many countries, saw what happened in Venezuela and now understand that there's a partner of preference inside the Western Hemisphere and in the world, which is the United States, not China, Russia or Iran."

Pentagon actions under this framework include the deployment of additional surveillance assets, enhanced maritime patrol operations, and the integration of cyber capabilities to track and disrupt illicit networks. It has also prioritized capacity-building efforts to strengthen partner nations’ ability to sustain long-term counter-cartel operations.

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Humire continued, "This is a historic effort to put the Western Hemisphere as a top regional priority for U.S. national security in ways we have never done before. President Trump has made a monumental shift in U.S. foreign policy and national security."

Beyond cartel activity, the initiative reflects growing concern over the influence of China, Russia and Iran in the region.

Expanding Chinese infrastructure investments with dual-use potential, Iranian-linked networks tied to illicit finance and proxy activities and Russian disinformation campaigns are key threats to regional stability.

To counter these efforts, the Pentagon has increased intelligence cooperation with allied governments, expanded joint cybersecurity initiatives, and supported efforts to secure critical infrastructure from foreign control or exploitation. Military-to-military engagements have also been scaled up to reinforce alignment with U.S. strategic priorities.

"Since Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio went to Panama last year, China has had significantly less influence inside that country. They lost access to the ports and are no longer advancing their investments," Humire said.

"China also had a lot of influence over the Panamanian government. That influence is no more. Panama has withdrawn from the Belt and Road Initiative, becoming the first country in Latin America to do so. From the Department of War, we have partnered with Panama to build up an enduring presence on the Panama Canal which includes a jungle operations school on the Atlantic side, and a joint security operation group on the Pacific side. This is all to advance security of the Panama Canal."

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Humire continued, "The stabilization efforts in Venezuela are going well. Despite Maduro's very close relationship with Iran, China and Russia, this was not enough to defend him. In the aftermath of Operation Absolute Resolve, we have seen tension among these different external actors, because while they had levels of cooperation, they don't have the same exact interests."

"This is evidenced by the fact that before, during and after Operation Absolute Resolve, neither Russia, China, or Iran, or even Cuba for that matter, were able to do anything to keep Nicolas Maduro in power. They might have sent some equipment and armament, but that didn't defend Maduro from that operation, and the Cuban security that was with him wasn't able to defend him. Russia, China, Iran or Cuba could not stop a very successful U.S. military action in support of U.S. law enforcement."

"The message to all the countries in Latin America, and frankly the world, is that they need to think twice when they partner with Russia, China or Iran because that partnership does not produce results," Humire said.

As part of its broader hemispheric strategy, the administration is also recalibrating its policy toward Cuba, viewing the island as a persistent security concern due to its ties with U.S. adversaries.

"The White House is leading conversations with Cuba in the aftermath of Venezuela. Cuba was reliant on subsidized oil from Venezuela, in exchange for security services. But those security services didn't do much for Venezuela when it mattered, so I believe there is a bit of a friction between the Cuban and Venezuelan governments," he said.

"The Western Hemisphere is our neighborhood; it is intricately tied to U.S. homeland defense. Hemispheric defense is and always has been a key part of U.S. homeland defense. Acknowledging this is why the Western Hemisphere is now a top priority for the Trump administration and especially for the Department of War, as reflected by official policy in the 2025 National Security Strategy and 2026 National Defense Strategy," Humire told Fox News Digital.