Todd Lyons, director interino del ICE, este miércoles ante un comité del Congreso de EE.UU. Foto: AP

Preocupación

Agentes del ICE detienen a una manifestante durante una redada en Minneapolis. Foto: AP

Top U.S. military leaders are hosting more than 30 nations in Washington as the Trump administration moves to deepen security cooperation across the Western Hemisphere, prioritizing border control, drug trafficking and regional threats from global adversaries. 

«To put America First, we must put the Americas First,» War Secretary Pete Hegseth said, according to remarks shared by Joseph Humire, U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and the Americas. 

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«We must work together to prevent any adversary or criminal actor from exploiting your territory or using your infrastructure to threaten what a great former American president, Teddy Roosevelt, once called ‘permanent peace in this hemisphere.’»

The meeting, convened by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, comes amid a broader national security strategy that places heightened emphasis on threats closer to home: from fentanyl pipelines and transnational criminal networks to Arctic competition and instability in Venezuela.

The conference also coincides with U.S. action against Mexican cartel drones that breached American airspace near El Paso, Texas.

An administration official told Fox News that «Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.»

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily restricted flights in and out of El Paso International Airport for what it described as «special security reasons.» Federal officials have not released operational details, but the administration official said the action was directly tied to counter-drone measures along the southern border.

The incident underscores the growing use of unmanned systems by cartel networks and the increasing overlap between traditional criminal activity and homeland defense concerns — a theme expected to surface in discussions among defense leaders gathered in Washington.

Top military leaders from Denmark, Britain and France, nations that have territory in the western hemisphere, have also been invited, according to The New York Times.

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Gen. Francis Donovan, the new chief of Southern Command, which oversees Latin American and Caribbean operations, is expected to press regional counterparts to intensify cooperation against drug-trafficking organizations and transnational criminal groups that operate across borders and increasingly leverage advanced technology. U.S. officials have warned that cartel networks are using drones, encrypted communications and sophisticated smuggling routes to move narcotics and personnel.

Video shows a kinetic strike on a narco-terror vessel in international waters from Wednesday, Dec. 31. The strikes come amid broader military pressure in the region following high-profile security actions. (U.S. Southern Command via X)

Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, the head of U.S. Northern Command, which leads homeland and north of the U.S. defense including Greenland, is reportedly expected to talk about border controls and integration of advanced sensors across air, land, sea and space domains. 

Arctic security also us likely to feature prominently in discussions. The administration has pointed to increased Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic as a long-term strategic concern and has emphasized the importance of Greenland’s geographic position for missile warning, maritime access and critical mineral resources.

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by U.S. forces in January in a high-stakes operation and is now facing federal drug-trafficking charges in the United States. The capture has reshaped U.S. security discussions in the Western Hemisphere. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)

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The summit comes on the heels of the dramatic U.S. military capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in early January after months of counternarcotics boat strikes. 

As the hemisphere’s security landscape continues shifting, defense officials and regional allies alike will be watching to see how other governments with hostile policies toward the U.S. respond to Washington’s increasingly assertive posture.

Russia has reportedly agreed to abide by the limits of a nuclear arms pact it reached with the U.S. years ago after the agreement expired last week — as long as Washington does the same.

The New START Treaty’s expiration, which occurred on Feb. 5, leaves the nations with the two largest atomic arsenals with no restrictions for the first time in more than a half-century, The Associated Press reported. The expiration has fueled fears of a possible unconstrained nuclear arms race.

In September, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would abide by the nuclear arms deal for another year after its expiration date as long as the U.S. followed suit, the AP reported. However, President Donald Trump has said he wanted China to be part of a new pact, something that Beijing has rejected, according to the AP.

«Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,» Trump wrote on Truth Social upon the treaty’s expiration.

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In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the now-expired treaty, the White House pointed to the president’s Truth Social post.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to lawmakers about the treaty, saying Moscow would «act in a responsible and balanced way on the basis of analysis of the U.S. military policies,» the AP reported.

Lavrov added that «we have reason to believe that the United States is in no hurry to abandon these limits and that they will be observed for the foreseeable future.»

A rocket is launched as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test at the Plesetsk facility in Russia on Dec. 9, 2020. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

«We will closely monitor how things are actually unfolding,» Lavrov said. «If our American colleagues’ intention to maintain some kind of cooperation on this is confirmed, we will work actively on a new agreement and consider the issues that have remained outside strategic stability agreements.»

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The New START Treaty was signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, and was entered into force on Feb. 5, 2011. 

The treaty gave the U.S. and Russia until Feb. 5, 2018, to meet the central limits on strategic offensive arms. The treaty caps each side at 700 deployed ICBMs, SLBMs and nuclear-capable heavy bombers; 1,550 deployed warheads; and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers and bombers. The parties were then obligated to maintain the limits as long as the treaty remained in force, which it did until last week.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a press conference following their meeting on Ukraine, in Anchorage, Alaska,, Aug. 15, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

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The expiration of the treaty comes just after a meeting involving U.S. and Russian officials in Abu Dhabi. Axios previously reported that the two nations were closing in on a deal to observe the treaty for at least six months after its expiration. The outlet added that during the six-month period there would be negotiations for a new deal.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.