Eric Geressy compares Latin American cartels to Al-Qaida and ISIS

Geressy alleges cartels unable to compete with U.S. forces file spurious human-rights petitions

Eric Geressy, senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for strategy, spoke in opening remarks at the Oct. 27 Americas Counter Cartel Coalition forum in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, addressing defense and public security leaders from 19 Western Hemisphere nations. Geressy praised the U.S. military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking boats and claimed that in its first 12 months, it had “severed” drug-cartel maritime corridors. “We imposed catastrophic friction on their logistic lines. We shattered their command and control,” he said. He called the cartels “violent extremist organizations” and said they were adapting.

In the same opening remarks, Geressy compared Latin American drug cartels to Al-Qaida and ISIS: “They operate as the Al-Qaida and ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.” He then alleged that cartels unable to compete against the U.S. military were behind legal challenges to the strikes. Without providing proof, he claimed the cartels finance and run NGOs and “file spurious human rights petitions” to “paralyze our decision cycle.”

In those opening remarks, Geressy said the cartels sought to slow military operations through the courts: “They want to collapse our operational tempo from the courtroom because they cannot survive it in the battle space.” He also said: “Our compliance with the law of armed conflict is designated to govern civilized warfare, not to provide tactical sanctuary to mass murderers. We will never permit criminal syndicates to exploit our adherence to lawful warfare to tie the hands of our commanders.”

The Trump administration maintained that it was in armed conflict with criminal organizations it had designated as terrorist organizations. Geressy rejected allegations that the strikes were unlawful and said: “Let me establish our position with absolute clarity: The United States and every coalition partner assembled here strictly observed the law of armed conflict. Our forces adhere uncompromisingly to the core tenets of the rule of law: military necessity, distinction, proportionality and the prevention of unnecessary suffering.” He added: “However, we will not allow the law of war to be weaponized by a one-way shield by terrorists who respect no law.”

The forum was convened to implement plans to combat and dismantle drug-trafficking criminal networks. During the gathering, coalition leaders reviewed and approved a campaign plan and a governance charter outlining the unified strategy and structure required to support coalition priorities and achieve shared objectives. A3C said the coalition was committed to defending sovereignty, strengthening regional security and confronting what it called narco-terrorist networks that threaten the hemisphere.

On Oct. 27, under SOUTHCOM’s direction, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal, kinetic strike on a “go-fast vessel” operating along what the command called established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. SOUTHCOM said, “Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking,” but the statement did not provide evidence of that alleged activity or identify anyone aboard. The command described the five people killed as “narco-terrorists” but did not identify them or the criminal organization with which they were associated.

Black-and-white video from SOUTHCOM shows the boat appearing stationary on the water before it explodes into flames and smoke. Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, which coordinates U.S. military operations against drug-trafficking networks, was established in August to replace Joint Task Force Southern Spear. It coordinates U.S. military operations with the 18 partner nations of A3C. The Oct. 27 attack was the task force’s second publicly announced strike of October.

The Oct. 27 attack was the 72nd known attack by the U.S. military on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since the operation launched in September 2025. UPI reported that strikes in the campaign had killed at least 243 people whom the military alleged were involved in drug trafficking. Family members of some of the dead said their loved ones were fishermen and farmers.

The Trump administration’s campaign faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers, human-rights advocates and international legal experts, who accused it of carrying out extrajudicial killings against individuals who had not been charged with a crime, tried or convicted. U.N. special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Saul said there were reasonable grounds to believe the attacks constitute the international-law crime against humanity of murder. Saul also said there was growing evidence that the attacks had not been effective in reducing drug trafficking in the United States.