U.S. Military Views Cartels as Terrorist Organizations

With ongoing military operations targeting ships linked to drug trafficking, Army Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to the “narco-terrorists” as being akin to “al-Qaeda in the Western Hemisphere.” His comments came during a discussion in Malaysia and mirrored previous statements made under the Trump administration, which has supported controversial approaches to the issue.

In a recent declaration, Hegseth asserted that these cartels employ violence and intimidation similar to terrorist organizations. “These cartels are the al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere,” he stated, expressing the determination of the U.S. military to pursue these groups with the same aggressiveness as they would against terrorists. He claimed, “They will be hunted down and killed just like al-Qaeda,” in a post shared on social media about the military strikes from October 19.

It’s worth noting that numerous casualties have occurred during the airstrikes initiated by the Trump administration. Recently, both Trump and Hegseth have drawn parallels between the cartels and ISIS, with Hegseth reiterating, “It should be clear to the whole world that the cartel is the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.” This assertion seems to underline a broader perspective on how significant the threat of these cartels is seen to be.

Emphasizing the dangers posed by these groups, Hegseth concluded, “As the president said, this is the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere, this is al-Qaeda.”