The U.S. Southern Command has activated a permanent military headquarters to coordinate operations against drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean, formalizing a broader expansion of the military's regional security mission under the Trump administration. The new Joint Task Force–Western Hemisphere, activated Monday, replaces the temporary Joint Task Force Southern Spear established in 2025. Unlike its predecessor, the new command is designed as a standing headquarters that integrates intelligence, surveillance, operational planning and multinational coordination with partner nations, The Miami Herald reports. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended the campaign, telling The Post that traffickers' evolving tactics demonstrate that the United States is "imposing systemic friction" on criminal organizations. CNN reported Tuesday that Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is argued the military strikes violate constitutional limits on presidential war powers because Congress has not authorized the use of military force against drug-trafficking organizations.