Pentagon Reveals Attacks in Latin America Are Just the Beginning

Joseph Humire, the acting assistant secretary of war for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, told House lawmakers that U.S. military operations against Latin American drug cartels are expanding far beyond initial strikes, with "Operation Total Extermination" in Ecuador representing just the start of a broader regional campaign. The Pentagon has conducted at least 46 attacks since September 2025 across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific—destroying 48 vessels and killing nearly 160 civilians—and is now shifting to land-based strikes, with Humire confirming "Yes, ranking member" when asked if the War Department would conduct "a lot more terrestrial strikes." The Trump administration has forged agreements with 17 partner nations as part of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition and is simultaneously pursuing regime-change operations in Venezuela (where it abducted President Nicolás Maduro in January) and Cuba, with Trump repeatedly suggesting he will annex or "take" Cuba before focusing on the Iran conflict. Humire indicated the U.S. would not rule out unilateral strikes across Latin America, though he said current operations are "partner-led," and the administration has leveraged military pressure in Venezuela to coerce Cuba and Nicaragua into compliance with U.S. interests. Legal experts and the Pentagon's own commanders have raised concerns about the constitutional and international law violations underlying this expanding military campaign, which operates largely without congressional oversight or named targets.