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“America’s Retreat From Protecting Its Citizens and the Complacency of Many Neighbors in This Hemisphere Was a Great Betrayal,” — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Says — “President Trump Recognizes the Wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine — the Days of Us Endangering Our Own Citizens Are Finished!”

  • Rob Glenn
  • March 5, 2026

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the United States and many countries in the Western Hemisphere allowed security threats to grow unchecked for years, arguing that the failure to prioritize regional defense amounted to what he called a “great betrayal” of citizens across the Americas. Speaking at the Americas Counter Cartel Conference, Hegseth tied that criticism to the administration’s effort to revive the principles of the Monroe Doctrine, which he said now guides the administration’s strategy toward the region.

“America’s retreat from protecting its citizens and the complacency of many neighbors in this hemisphere was a great betrayal,” Hegseth argued. “That’s what it was. A great betrayal against our people and our nations.” He added that the approach is now changing under President Donald Trump, saying the president “recognizes the wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine and the days of us betraying and endangering our own citizens are finished.”

Hegseth’s remarks came as part of a broader speech outlining what the administration describes as a shift toward prioritizing homeland and hemispheric defense.

The Monroe Doctrine, first articulated in 1823 by President James Monroe, established a foundational principle of American foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine declared that European powers should no longer attempt to colonize or interfere in the affairs of nations in the Americas, warning that such actions would be viewed as a threat to the security of the United States. In return, the United States pledged not to interfere in European political conflicts or existing colonies.

Over time, the doctrine evolved into a broader strategic framework asserting that the Western Hemisphere should remain free from external power influence. American leaders across different eras have cited the doctrine to justify policies intended to limit foreign intervention in the region and to preserve stability among neighboring nations.

Hegseth argued that in recent decades the United States drifted away from those principles. He said policymakers in Washington became focused on overseas conflicts and distant geopolitical priorities while paying insufficient attention to security challenges within the Western Hemisphere itself.

“For too long, leaders in Washington and their foreign policy functionaries abandoned the simple wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine,” Hegseth said. He argued that U.S. leadership had become “obsessed with every other theater and every other border in the world except our own,” allowing criminal organizations and security threats to expand across the region.

Hegseth said the administration is now attempting to reassert the Monroe Doctrine’s emphasis on regional stability and sovereignty. In his remarks, he described what he called a renewed focus on defending U.S. borders, strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries, and confronting cartel networks through military and security partnerships.

He framed that effort as part of a broader strategy aimed at ensuring that countries across the Western Hemisphere maintain secure borders and prevent criminal organizations from controlling territory within their borders.

The Americas Counter Cartel Conference brought together military and security officials from nations across the hemisphere to discuss coordination against drug cartels, trafficking networks, and other transnational threats.

Hegseth said the conference itself reflected the administration’s emphasis on regional collaboration while also signaling a shift in how the United States views threats closer to home. By invoking the Monroe Doctrine, he argued that the administration’s approach seeks to restore what he described as a long-standing principle that the security of the Western Hemisphere is directly tied to the safety and stability of the United States and its neighbors.