U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth hints at the possibility of relocating some U.S. troops stationed in Europe to the Western Hemisphere

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hinted at the possibility of redeploying some of the U.S. troops stationed in Europe to the Western Hemisphere, such as the U.S. mainland or Central and South America.

Secretary Hegseth told reporters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA on the 3rd (local time), "We are expanding the presence and scope of our military's activities in Central and South America," and "Through our partnership, we have secured completely new options economically and militarily," according to The Hill, a media outlet specializing in Congress.

Secretary Hegseth cited Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama as major U.S. partners and said one of his missions is to implement the national security strategy and national defense strategy. “These strategies clearly show that we want Europe to share more of the burden,” he added.

"As we do that, some of our forces will be moved elsewhere, either back to the home bases we're building, as we announced a few days ago, or they could be deployed in some other form in the Western Hemisphere to counter designated terrorist organizations," he explained.

This can be interpreted as suggesting that the United States may strengthen its military involvement to counter drug cartels in Central and South America instead of sharing more of the European defense burden with its European allies.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Defense is reviewing the size and mission of U.S. forces stationed in Europe in order to expand the role and burden of NATO European allies in Europe's conventional defense. This six-month review is scheduled to conclude in December.

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Minister Hegseth gave a speech regarding the status of military power at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia and urged each governor to enter the competition to host a new U.S. military base. Accordingly, there is a possibility that moving some of the troops stationed in Europe to the U.S. mainland will also be considered.

The United States currently does not have large military bases in South America. But since last fall, the Pentagon has been strengthening its military response to drug cartels in Latin America.

U.S. forces have been targeting ships suspected of being used for drug trafficking in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Recently, an operation has been carried out in the waters near Ecuador by blocking large fishing boats suspected of being 'floating refueling stations', forcing the crew to disembark, and then blowing up the vessels.

Last week, about 50 U.S. military and law enforcement personnel, along with Ecuadorian police, launched a ground raid to eliminate suspected drug traffickers. The United States' military involvement in the war on drugs in Central and South America appears to be expanding.

The United States has also provided equipment, training, and information to allies such as Ecuador to support crackdowns on drug trafficking organizations.

Secretary Hegseth reiterated on the 3rd that the U.S. military is "at war" with drug cartels, saying, "Therefore, we will deploy troops and secure bases as needed to fight ISIS and al-Qaeda in our hemisphere."