Shield of the Americas – unity in fighting crime

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Wes Martin, a retired U.S. Army colonel, has served in senior law enforcement positions on three continents.

American organized crime surged in the 1920s because of an overwhelming public demand for illegal alcohol products. The profiteers quickly exploited human trafficking, prostitution, transportation and sale of drugs, extortion, gambling, protection rackets, and every other form of crime in which a profit could be made. Gang wars and murders became so rampant that organized crime itself established Murder Incorporated to either sanction or prohibit specific assassinations. Not until the late 1950s, when J. Edgar Hoover was forced to publicly admit the existence of the mafia, was proper federal attention given to battle this interstate situation.

Fast forward 100 years to today and illegal drugs have replaced alcohol as the major source of criminal revenue. Mob “families” of New York City and Chicago have been surpassed by Central and South American cartels. In addition to exploiting all the criminal activity of their 20th century American predecessors, the Latin American cartels are adding kidnapping to their resumes. President Donald Trump is correct in identifying drug cartels as international terrorists.

In past decades, Venezuelan and Colombian cartels transported drugs to the United States over Caribbean and Gulf waters as well as eastern Pacific. Interdictions by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard became so effective that South American cartels hired Mexican gangs to serve as overland mules. Soon Mexican gangs developed into their own cartels and became business partners instead of transporters. With no Murder Incorporated to limit the killings, cartels have open season on rival organizations and U.S. and local government officials opposing drug operations.

Relaxed border policies of past U.S. presidential administrations resulted in cartels skillfully emplacing their own members within America to manage distribution and exercise enforcement. Southwestern border states have developed into transportation hubs. Where governors and mayors have declared sanctuary status and block subordinate police departments from cooperating with federal agencies, the problem has exploded.

One prime example of this is Albuquerque, N.M. Interstate 25 begins just a few miles from the Mexican border and then proceeds north, intersecting with east–west I-40 in Albuquerque, I-70 in Denver, and I-80 in Cheyenne, Wyo. — an ideal spine for moving narcotics into the interior of the U.S. In April 2025, 2.7 million fentanyl pills were captured in a single federal bust in Albuquerque’s self-declared “International Zone.” Multiply this one city by all the other border state transportation hubs and the seriousness of the problem is realized.

Trump realizes that trying to control international drug trafficking at or inside U.S. borders will achieve no better success than individual states had in fighting organized crime a century earlier — it took a national effort with multiple federal law enforcement agencies working together with state and local police.

An international effort is required. This is the foundation of Shield of the Americas. The Organization of American States exists to promote mutual cooperation, promote peace, and encourage economic cooperation. It has no power or skills to address the drug cartel situation that spirals further out of control every day.

Except in countries where criminal organizations run the governments, local law enforcement agencies have been trying to address the problem. Unfortunately, members of national and local police agencies, as well as political leaders, are constantly subject to being killed and their families terrorized. These countries, as well as honest citizens in countries controlled by criminals, need help. Interpol has brought 196 countries together to fight crime. Shield of the Americas is the opportunity to bring all countries of North and South America together for the same purpose. It’s a modern-day application of the Monroe Doctrine. 

It was not without precedent that Venezuelan dictator and alleged drug kingpin Nicolas Maduro was captured and brought to the United States to stand trial. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt applied what would become the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Roosevelt stated that the U.S. had a right to take action in situations of “flagrant and chronic wrongdoing by a Latin American nation.” This was the same position taken by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 with the capture of another dictator and drug kingpin brought to justice: Panama’s Manuel Noriega.

On March 7, hosted in Florida, the inaugural summit of the Shield of the Americas was attended by representatives of the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. At the summit, former Department of Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem was announced to serve as special envoy representing the United States. As successes of unified operations are achieved, other countries will certainly join.

No country in the Shield of the Americas coalition is more important than another. The United States has the military force, law enforcement agencies, equipment, and technical capabilities such as cyber exploitation and satellite surveillance. However, the importance of all other nations in this combined effort cannot be overstated. They are ground zero of production and initial transportation routes. Recognizing the value of unity in breaking the growing power and influence of drug cartels, all member nations are coming together for the future for their citizens and the security of their democratic nations.