U.S. Southern Command established the Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere on Aug. 4 to facilitate and coordinate action against organized criminal threats by the U.S. military and regional partner states. The new entity is intended to support cooperation among military and security partners, according to Defense One.
The task force follows the March creation of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, a U.S.-led body intended to coordinate regional actions against transnational organized crime. The two entities indicate that SOUTHCOM is placing greater emphasis on coordinating security efforts with governments in the region, although their precise roles are distinct. The coalition is described as a body for coordinating regional actions, while JTF-WHEM is intended to facilitate and coordinate action involving U.S. military and regional partner forces.
The task force’s formation comes as the United States pursues a more active security role in Latin America. Operation Southern Spear began last year with U.S. Navy strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels, according to the Defense One account. The operation later expanded to include the alleged U.S. abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and renewed economic and military pressure on Cuba. Those actions have contributed to concern in a region with a long history of U.S. interventionism, while several governments have also adopted tougher policies toward organized crime.
SOUTHCOM has separately supported direct cooperation with national security forces. In March, the command dispatched forces to assist Ecuadorian security forces in action against an alleged criminal hub inside Ecuador. The March launch of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition occurred during the same period and was intended to coordinate regional actions against transnational organized crime.
On Aug. 12, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala had approved U.S. participation in combined operations against criminal entities. The announcement identifies those governments as participants in the type of regional military cooperation that the task force is intended to facilitate. The available account does not provide a schedule or operational description for those activities.
The task force and coalition could also provide forums for strategic consensus, operational planning and dispute mediation among participating states. U.S. diplomats and senior SOUTHCOM personnel have sought regional buy-in, or at least acquiescence, for a larger U.S. role in the region. The Defense One analysis says officials have used political and material incentives to attract participation and have increasingly linked security and economic assistance to cooperation in areas of U.S. interest.
That effort may face political resistance. The Defense One account says several Latin American governments were broadly sympathetic to Maduro’s removal, but that Southern Spear’s boat strikes and the Maduro operation provoked unease. It also raises the possibility of formal U.S. troop deployments inside regional partner states, presenting that as a possibility rather than an announced development.
JTF-WHEM therefore represents a new coordination entity within SOUTHCOM’s regional security structure. Its stated purpose is to help organize military and partner-state action against criminal threats, while the coalition is intended to coordinate broader regional actions against transnational organized crime. The significance of the task force will depend on how participating governments use those arrangements and how regional cooperation develops.