US ramps up fight against Latin American drug cartels
DEA Administrator Terry Cole joins ‘America Reports’ to discuss expanded U.S. efforts to combat drug cartels in Latin America. Cole weighs in on strategic operations, intelligence sharing, training efforts and maritime security measures aimed at disrupting cartel activity.
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EXCLUSIVE: Brazil could join the U.S.-led effort to combat drug cartels if presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro wins the country’s Oct. 25 runoff election, according to his brother, Brazilian politician Eduardo Bolsonaro.
The initiative, known as the Shield of the Americas, is designed to expand security cooperation among countries in the Western Hemisphere, including intelligence sharing, military coordination and joint efforts to disrupt cartel financing.
The coalition follows the Trump administration’s decision in February 2025 to designate eight major criminal organizations as both Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The groups include Tren de Aragua, MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Carteles Unidos.
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A supporter raises a Brazilian flag next to a U.S. flag during a campaign rally for opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro in São Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 18, 2026. (Andre Penner/AP Photo)
“The main thing that we need to do is fight the cartels,” Eduardo Bolsonaro told Fox News Digital. “They work together in a lot of countries, so we should fight back then.”
Brazil has not joined the initiative under left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Eduardo Bolsonaro said that if his brother’s conservative Liberal Party wins the presidency, Brazil would work with the Trump administration to combat the country’s powerful criminal organizations.
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“So I’m sure that, under the leadership of President Trump and the Shield of the Americas, we have the opportunity for the first time” to work together against the cartels, Eduardo Bolsonaro said.
Brazil’s presidential runoff will pit Flávio Bolsonaro against Lula after Bolsonaro led Lula in the first round. He has said he would seek closer security cooperation with the United States and other conservative governments in the region.
President Donald Trump, center, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, second from left, Argentine President Javier Milei, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz and Chilean President-elect José Antonio Kast pose for a family photo during the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Fla., on March 7, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
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The potential addition of Brazil would expand the coalition’s presence in South America, where criminal groups such as Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho have become major forces in the regional drug trade.
Other countries participating in the U.S.-led effort include Argentina, El Salvador and Peru. The initiative has also drawn participation from countries including Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay and Chile, according to the State Department.
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The coalition’s broader goals include combating drug trafficking, disrupting criminal financing and strengthening cooperation among law enforcement and military officials.
President Trump pictured with former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo spoke with Fox News Digital about a potential new alliance between the two countries. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo; Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
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U.S. officials have repeatedly linked cartel activity to the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has also attributed hundreds of thousands of American deaths to cartel-linked drug overdoses.