Hegseth indicates some US troops could be redeployed from Europe to Western Hemisphere

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that some U.S. forces could be moved from Europe to the Western Hemisphere as the administration expands its military footprint in Central and South America. He tied the shift to closer partnerships in the region and to what he described as opportunities created by the U.S. military’s capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a development he said widened economic and military options.

Hegseth noted existing security relationships with Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama and said part of implementing the national security and defense strategies is encouraging more burden sharing in Europe. As that occurs, he said certain capabilities could be relocated either back to the United States — to a new base the Pentagon recently announced it plans to build — or repositioned within the Western Hemisphere to target designated terrorist and criminal organizations.

The Pentagon is conducting a six‑month review of U.S. military posture in Europe, due to conclude in December, intended to shift conventional defense roles to NATO allies. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has escalated operations against drug cartels in Latin America: since Sept. 2 of last year the U.S. military has carried out at least 70 strikes and, according to the article, killed 234 people described as "narco‑terrorists." Recent tactics include destroying alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific and interdicting large fishing vessels off Ecuador after removing crews.

U.S. involvement on the ground has also increased, with roughly 50 U.S. service members and law enforcement personnel participating in recent raids in Ecuador alongside Ecuadorean forces. The article says the U.S. has provided gear, training and intelligence to partner countries and that U.S. special operations forces will help train partners to command and control operations, while not engaging targets until cleared. Hegseth reiterated that the administration views its effort as a war against drug cartels, likening them to "the ISIS and Al Qaeda of our hemisphere."