War Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted Thursday that the Trump administration has achieved “operational control of our southern border” and all but stopped the flow of suspected drug trafficking boats to the US from South America.
As the American war with Iran entered its sixth day, Hegseth sought to reassure officials from the Caribbean, Central America and South America that Washington has not forgotten its own hemisphere.
“President Trump recognizes the wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine, and the days of us betraying and endangering our own citizens are finished,” Hegseth said in kicking off the Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US military’s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Doral, Fla.
“President Trump recognizes the wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine, and the days of us betraying and endangering our own citizens are finished,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) on the White House campus in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2026. REUTERS“President Trump has re-established the Monroe Doctrine, the Trump corollary of the Monroe Doctrine, or if you like, for short, you can just call it the Donroe doctrine,” the Pentagon chief went on.
“Under President Trump, securing America’s interests in the Western Hemisphere and keeping our homeland safe are our top national security priorities.”
The Post coined the term “Donroe Doctrine” on its front page in January 2025, in reference to Trump’s desire to keep America’s adversaries from gaining footholds in the Western Hemisphere.
Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Washington, DC. APAnother pillar of that strategy is cracking down hard on illegal immigration and drug trafficking, Hegseth told his audience.
“We now have operational control of our southern border. Zero people are crossing our southern border. We will not rest until we have complete operational control of every inch of all of our borders.”
Meanwhile, the US has carried out more than 40 airstrikes on suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing at least 150 people.
“Last month we went a few weeks without targeting a single boat,” Hegseth said Thursday. “Why? Well, because we couldn’t find a whole lot of boats to sink.
“And that’s the whole point, is to establish deterrence for narcoterrorists, who have been able to traffic almost unfettered.”
Check back for more updates on this developing story…
