Washington, Aug 13 (IANS) US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has urged members of a Western Hemisphere security coalition to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of threatening national sovereignty and seeking jurisdiction over military operations against drug cartels.
Addressing the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition conference in Panama, Hegseth also announced that Colombia would join the group as its 19th member.
“I strongly encourage every ACCC member to leave the ICC and reject their attempts to rob your governments and your courts of your sovereignty,” Hegseth said. “I know as a soldier, I swore an oath to the Constitution, not some fake and illegitimate international court.”
He said the United States and its partners were acting lawfully in their campaign against groups designated as terrorist organisations.
“Our efforts in this effort are 100 per cent lawful under the laws of armed conflict,” he said.
Hegseth said Operation Southern Spear, launched nearly a year ago, had sharply reduced the movement of suspected drug vessels. He cited “at a minimum, 65 per cent reduction in the western Caribbean, a 60 per cent reduction in the eastern Caribbean, and a nearly 50 per cent reduction in the eastern Pacific in the north and south of the Galapagos Islands”.
“We are retaking the open seas and our maritime borders,” he said. “This is a bad time to get in a drug boat in the Western Hemisphere.”
The operation’s work will be transferred to the newly established Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, which Hegseth described as the “action arm” of the US Southern Command.
He praised Ecuador for becoming the first coalition member to conduct a combined kinetic operation with the United States against suspected narcoterrorists. Honduras and Guatemala had also invited Washington to participate in joint operations, he said.
Hegseth announced a new military partnership with Jamaica aimed at disrupting trafficking through the Caribbean. He also said Colombia had requested US participation in its counter-narcotics campaign and authorised joint military operations.
“Aggressive and concrete steps like these exemplify the types of active participation, operationally focused, we want to see from our partners that will make the ACCC a potent and lethal coalition,” he said.
The Secretary of War also urged coalition members to increase military spending. He said the Trump administration was seeking a $1.5 trillion US military budget and would give priority to countries investing substantially in their own defence.
“If countries are serious about their defence, the Department of War will prioritise our efforts to enhance your capabilities and fight beside you on the battlefield,” he said.
The ICC was established by the 1998 Rome Statute and began operating in 2002. It investigates genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression when national courts are unwilling or unable to act.
The United States signed the Rome Statute in 2000 but later withdrew its signature and never ratified it. It is not an ICC member, although several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have joined the court.
–IANS
lkj/dpb
