President Donald Trump’s March 7, 2026 proclamation lays out an aggressive new anti-cartel doctrine, calling for the destruction of criminal cartels and foreign terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere “to the fullest extent possible consistent with applicable law.” The proclamation says the United States will work with allies to strip these groups of territory, money, weapons access, and outside influence, while training and mobilizing partner-nation militaries to build a stronger regional force against cartel violence. It also highlights the newly formed Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, involving representatives from 17 countries, as a sign that Washington is pushing beyond law enforcement toward a broader hard-power strategy against organized crime.
COMMITMENT TO COUNTERING CARTEL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States, under my leadership, has demonstrated a sustained commitment towards achieving the dismantlement of cartels and foreign terrorists operating in the Western Hemisphere. My Administration has designated a number of cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations and has since dedicated unprecedented resources towards their destruction. These international entities control territories and commerce, extort political and judicial systems, wield arms and field military capabilities, and use assassinations and terrorism to achieve their ends. In furtherance of our efforts, the Secretary of War established the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, a pledge from military leaders and representatives from 17 countries demonstrating that the region is ready to operationalize hard power to defeat these threats to our security and civilization. We will address these grave dangers by use of any necessary resources and legally available authorities, together with our partner nations.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim as follows:
(1) Criminal cartels and foreign terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere should be demolished to the fullest extent possible consistent with applicable law.
(2) The United States and its allies should coordinate to deprive these organizations of any control of territory and access to financing or resources necessary to conduct their campaigns of violence.
(3) The United States will train and mobilize partner nation militaries to achieve the most effective fighting force necessary to dismantle cartels and their ability to export violence and pursue influence through organized intimidation.
(4) The United States and its allies should keep external threats at bay, including malign foreign influences from outside the Western Hemisphere.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.
DONALD J. TRUMP
March 7, 2026
It’s a pretty wild time, but it’s going very well. Sit down, please.
Tremendous progress has been made, as you’re probably seeing just by watching. We’re doing something very significant. I built the military, rebuilt it, and made it really strong during my first administration. Along with a lot of other things we did, we had a great first term, and now we’re using that strength. Unfortunately, we have to. But you’re seeing how great it is. There is no military like it on Earth — not even close.
And we’re doing very well in Iran. You can see the results. It’s been amazing. We knocked out 42 Navy ships, some of them very large, in three days. That was the end of their Navy. We knocked out their air force. We knocked out their communications — all telecommunications are gone. I don’t know how they communicate now, but I guess they’ll figure something out. It’s not working out too well for them. And they are bad people — just bad people.
When you look at October 7 and everything beyond October 7, look at all the killing they’ve done over 47 years. This had to be done. They were very close to a nuclear weapon. They would have had one if we hadn’t carried out our B-2 strike, Midnight Hammer. They would have had a nuclear weapon eight months ago. And you know they’re crazy — they would have used it. So we did the world a favor.
Someone asked me, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how are you doing with the attack?” I said, “About a 15,” with 10 being the best. It’s something that had to be done, and we’re doing it well. I want to thank everybody involved.
I’ll be leaving right after this for Dover. It’s a very sad situation. I’m going there to greet the families of the heroes coming home from Iran — coming home in a very different way than they thought they would. But they are great heroes in our country, and we’re going to keep it that way. When it comes to war, there is always tragedy. But we’re going to keep it to a minimum, I think, Pete. And what we’re doing is really a service — not just for the Middle East, but for the world. These were sick people, very sick people.
This morning, I’m honored to welcome distinguished heads of state from across the Western Hemisphere for the first Shield of the Americas Summit. It is something very, very special. Marco has been working on it very hard, and so have a lot of other people, because this region is very important to us. It’s nice to be home. It’s very important. We travel all over the world — 9,000 miles away, 12,000 miles away. I ask, “How long is this flight, sir?” “Nineteen hours.” I say, “Oh, that’s great.” Now I have flights that last two hours. I like that much better.
But on this historic day, we come together to announce a brand-new military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region. We were talking backstage, and you were telling me about the crime and the cartels. We’re knocking the hell out of them where we can, and we’re going to go even heavier. You saw what we were doing with the boats coming in. There aren’t many people coming in by boat anymore. Drugs coming in by sea are down 96%. We’re trying to find out who the other 4% are, because I think they must be the bravest people in the world — or maybe they just don’t watch television.
We’re calling this military partnership the America’s Counter-Cartel Coalition. That’s what you need. The cartels seem to grow unbelievably rapidly in this region, largely because of drugs. Earlier this week in Miami, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who is right here — Pete, you’re fantastic, doing a great job, we’re proud of you — and representatives of 17 different nations formally entered into this new alliance.
At the heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks once and for all. We’ll get rid of them. We need your help. You just have to tell us where they are. We have amazing weaponry, as you have probably noticed over the last short period of time.
I want to thank the members of the coalition, most of whom are friends of mine, and a few of whom I just met. Many of them I endorsed, and they took that endorsement and went on to win big. I haven’t had a bad endorsement yet.
The President of Argentina is here — Javier Milei, thank you very much for being here. The President of El Salvador, another friend — a man we’ve gotten very close to. When I first saw him, I thought he was too young, but then I saw the job he did and I changed my mind. He has been a great president, and we appreciate the relationship very much.
Also here are the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña; the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; the President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino; the President of Honduras; the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali; the President of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz; the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves; the president-elect of Costa Rica, Laura Fernández Delgado; the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; and the president-elect of Chile, José Kast. Congratulations to all of you.
I want to thank Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his leadership in organizing this really important summit. He’s fantastic — a fantastic Secretary of State. Thus far, we’ve had the most incredible year of any president. I ended eight wars. We’re not going into all of that today, but what we’ve done is incredible, and we’re going to be doing some incredible things together.
All of the nations in this room share the same priorities: security, prosperity, free commerce, and the rule of law. That’s why together we are also forming the Shield of the Americas, a new organization to advance these shared priorities in our hemisphere.
For decades, leaders in this region allowed large swaths of territory in the Western Hemisphere to come under the control of transnational gangs and bloodthirsty cartels that impose their will through murder, torture, extortion, drug trafficking, bribery, and terror. Some of you are in danger — real danger. It’s hard to believe, but we are working with you to do whatever we have to do. If you need help, we will help.
Many of the cartels have developed sophisticated military operations. In some cases, they are said to be more powerful than the military in the country itself. We cannot have that. These brutal criminal organizations pose an unacceptable threat to national security, and they provide a dangerous gateway for foreign adversaries in our region. They are a cancer, and we do not want that cancer spreading.
Every leader here today is united in the conviction that we cannot and will not tolerate this lawlessness in our hemisphere any longer. The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries. You have to use your military. You cannot fight these people with ordinary policing alone.
Just as we formed a coalition to eradicate ISIS in the Middle East, we must now do the same to eradicate the cartels closer to home. As part of our commitment to countering cartel violence, we must recognize that the epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico. The Mexican cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere. The United States government will do whatever is necessary to defend our national security and protect the safety of the American people.
At the same time, all of us must recommit ourselves to ensuring law and order within our own nations. That includes showing zero tolerance for gang activity. The savages who murder and rape with impunity must be permanently removed from society. We must not allow our criminal justice systems to be corrupted so that they protect criminals at the expense of the people.
By securing our border and cracking down on traffickers and smugglers, we’ve reduced fentanyl pouring across our border by 67% in our first year. With a little more time, we’ll do even better. We’ve also been working closely with many of you to end human smuggling and implement safe third-country agreements.
We are also looking forward to major change in Venezuela and Cuba. Under our new doctrine — and it is a doctrine — we will not allow hostile foreign influence to gain a foothold in this hemisphere. That includes the Panama Canal. Together, we will protect our sovereignty, our security, and our cherished freedom and independence.
The nations gathered here today are filled with unlimited potential. But to fulfill that tremendous potential, we must smash the grip of the cartels, criminal gangs, and violent organizations that have terrorized our people for too long. With the courage and resolve of the leaders in this room, we will make our nations safer, stronger, richer, and more successful than ever before.
So I want to thank you all very much for coming. I look forward to the incredible progress that is soon to come. You’re going to see some incredible things. And now I’d like to ask Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth to say a few words. Then I will sign a proclamation formally launching the America’s Counter-Cartel Coalition.
Thank you all very much for being here. We appreciate it.
Sources: WhiteHouse.gov , Midtown Tribune news
