Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, urged Latin American countries to increase their defense and security spending to combat organized crime. RELATED:Regional Summit in Colombia Seeks Unified Response to U.S. Monroe Doctrine“It is essential that our neighbors invest more in their own defense and security. The senior Pentagon official described it as “absurd” that some Latin American countries “spend less than 1% of their GDP on national defense,” although he did not specify which ones. Colby said there is currently “a historic opportunity for the United States and its regional neighbors to work together” in combating drug trafficking and other threats. He recalled that the United States, which has been affected by drug trafficking and migration flows, will mobilize its armed forces and all of its resources to confront those threats.