Day: August 12, 2026
Video
During a two day meeting in Panama involving 19 coalition members, Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is committed to working with regional partners to dismantle drug cartels and counter what the department describes as narco-terrorism.
SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis Donovan said coalition members have begun identifying priority networks, regional leads and specific campaign objectives, with working groups being established to develop a formal A3C campaign plan by November.
Hegseth also announced a new coalition motto: “We do bad things to bad people.”
The A3C was launched in March as a U.S.-led multinational effort focused on combating transnational drug cartels, illegal migration and foreign geopolitical interference in the Western Hemisphere.
