US Joint Chiefs chair to hold Western Hemisphere leaders' meeting
The United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, is set to convene a rare meeting of top military leaders from all 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere on February 11, marking the first time such a gathering has been held [sic], according to a statement provided to ABC News [which dutifully passed on the unsubstantiated claim].
The meeting comes as the US military continues an intensified campaign in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, targeting what it alleges are drug trafficking networks and vessels. US officials say the meeting aims to enhance regional coordination against organized crime and narcotics trafficking.
“Chiefs of defense and senior military representatives from 34 nations will meet to build shared understanding of common security priorities and strengthen regional cooperation,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in the statement.
Focus on 'criminal and terrorist organizations'
According to the statement, participating defense leaders will discuss strengthening partnerships and “united efforts to counter criminal and terrorist organizations,” as well as confronting what Washington describes as “external actors undermining regional security and stability.”
The meeting is being held as the United States maintains what officials describe as its largest military presence in the Caribbean in decades, alongside a sharp increase in air and maritime operations. It also comes against the backdrop of Washington's kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight raid early this month.
The Joint Chiefs’ statement referenced the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, released in November, which outlines Washington’s objective of ensuring a hemisphere aligned with US security priorities, free from “hostile foreign incursion,” and supportive of US access to strategic locations and critical supply chains.
US strike follows announcement of meeting
The planned meeting was confirmed on Friday, the same day the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced a new strike on an alleged drug smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific. According to SOUTHCOM, the strike killed two people and left one survivor.
A short video of the strike was published on X, with Southern Command stating that the US Coast Guard had been notified to conduct a search and rescue operation for the survivor.
US officials say the strike marked the first such operation this year and the first since the January 3 abduction of Maduro, whom Washington claims was transferred to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, a public spectacle that shredded established norms of international law.
Since September, the US military has carried out more than 30 strikes across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific as part of what it describes as an anti-narcotics campaign, with US officials claiming that over 120 people have been killed in these operations.
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