Representatives from over 30 countries gathered in the Peruvian city of Cuzco last week for the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, where top Pentagon official Elbridge Colby used the occasion to defend the "Donroe Doctrine [8]." As they have done at other regional security summits, including the "Shield of the Americas" [9] conference in May, Trump officials cast drug trafficking and irregular migration as threats to US security, urged regional governments to increase military spending, and called for deeper security collaboration with Washington. In line with earlier declarations from [18] "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth, Colby responded to perceptions that the Monroe Doctrine has served as cover for US imperialism, dismissing such criticisms [19] as a "distorted view" of history. An increasing number [10] of right-wing [11] governments have embraced closer military ties [12] with the United States through joint strikes [13] and new military bases [14], even as militarized policies have failed to curb organized crime [15] and violence in countries like Ecuador, a key testing ground [16] for the administration'srenewed war on "narcoterrorism." (NACLA Update [20])
