Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Oct. 10 that President Donald Trump has directed the creation of a new counter-narcotics joint task force in the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility.
The SOUTHCOM oversees U.S. military operations in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Sea. The joint command comprises more than 1,200 military and civilian personnel.
Hegseth said in a post on X that the new task force will be operating in SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility “to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe.”
“The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold,” the Pentagon chief said….