Hegseth cautions that ICC may investigate US boat strikes in Latin America

What the report says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Panama that the International Criminal Court could try to investigate US military actions in Latin America, including strikes on boats the Trump administration says are used to smuggle drugs. According to Al Jazeera, he argued the campaign against cartels is lawful and urged countries in the region to reject the court’s authority.

The remarks came as Hegseth promoted a regional military coalition that Washington launched in March to target drug trafficking. He said Colombia has become the 19th member of the group, known as the Shield of the Americas or Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, and said Honduras and Guatemala are also open to joint operations. He linked the effort to the administration’s broader framing of cartels as “narco-terrorists.”

Al Jazeera reported that rights groups and legal experts have criticized the US strikes on alleged smuggling boats, saying they may amount to extrajudicial killings. A July report from the Washington Office on Latin America said at least 221 people had been killed in the strikes since September 2025, though the ICC has not announced any investigation into US actions in the region.

The story also placed the comments in a wider political context, noting closer security alignment between Washington and several right-wing governments in Latin America. Hegseth said the campaign has reduced narco-vessel movement across major maritime routes, while regional leaders present at the event described drug trafficking as a major threat to public safety.