Hegseth says U.S. counter-cartel efforts are 100 percent lawful under the laws of armed conflict
Pete HegsethSecretary of War, speaking at an Americas Counter Cartel Coalition conference in Panama City
Hegseth called Operation Southern Spear "a resounding success thus far" and said "Our efforts in this effort are 100 percent lawful under the laws of armed conflict", adding that there is "no legitimate basis" for International Criminal Court jurisdiction over U.S. operations.
“It's now nearly one year since the launch of Operation Southern Spear, the first time in history that the Department of War launched a sustained military campaign against US designated terrorist organizations in our shared hemisphere. And it has been a resounding success thus far. … the international left, along with their enabling left-wing media, is plotting to unlawfully assert International Criminal Court jurisdiction over US and partner military personnel and operations. To be clear, there is no legitimate basis for the ICC's lawless power grab that they will entertain anywhere they can in the world. Our efforts in this effort are 100 percent lawful under the laws of armed conflict.”
Official statement
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was the U.S. military's September 19 Caribbean boat strike justified by evidence of narcotics trafficking?
On September 19, 2026, U.S. Southern Command announced that Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere had struck a go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea and killed four people it called "narco-terrorists". The command said "Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking". According to The Associated Press, the military did not provide evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs. On September 20, U.N. Special Rapporteur Ben Saul posted a briefing note concluding that U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats since September 2025 amount to "serial extrajudicial killings" and that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" the 68 attacks he counted through August 2026 "constituted crimes against humanity of murder". White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on September 22 that the strikes have been "against designated narcoterrorists". The dispute is whether the intelligence Southern Command cites, which it did not release with its announcement, justified the September 19 strike.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Department of War transcript of Secretary Hegseth's remarks in Panama. The remarks refer to Operation Southern Spear and to International Criminal Court jurisdiction over U.S. military operations.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Al Jazeera report on Hegseth's August 12 speech in Panama. It reads his remarks as covering U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Hegseth spoke on August 12, 2026, more than five weeks before the September 19 strike. He said the operation's critics include "the fake news media", which "has tried to discredit and delegitimize Operation Southern Spear".
After the quotation
His remarks concern the campaign as a whole and its lawfulness, not the evidence for any single strike. He also said U.S. forces had seen "record drops in movements of narco vessels across major maritime corridors".
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Measured against the campaign the September 19 strike belongs to and its legal basis, Hegseth says the campaign is lawful under the laws of armed conflict and rejects outside jurisdiction over it, which defends the legal premise for the strikes.
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U.S. Southern Command
“have been conducted lawfully, fully complying with the law of armed conflict”Read statement
Chuy Garcia calls the Caribbean and Pacific boat strikes illegal extrajudicial killings
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The Dispute Index. "Hegseth says U.S. counter-cartel efforts are 100 percent lawful under the laws of armed conflict". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2655-hegseth-called-operation-southern-spear-a-resounding-success