The United States Southern Command (Southcom) has taken a decisive step in its regional control strategy. According to a report published yesterday in the Mexican newspaper La Jornada , the Pentagon announced the launch of the Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere ( JTF-WHEM ), a supranational military organization comprising 18 countries in the region—including Javier Milei 's Argentina—to operate under the direct command of U.S. Marine Corps General Kevin Jarrard .

The initiative, framed within the so-called "Shield of the Americas" promoted by the Donald Trump administration, openly recovers the postulates of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 ("America for the Americans" ) to redefine the role of Latin American armed forces, turning them into auxiliary arms of Washington's intelligence and surveillance.

Argentina's role: Subordinate intelligence and surveillance

According to the official Southcom statement issued from Florida, the JTF-WHEM was designed to "synchronize military capabilities" and "integrate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), operational planning, and multinational coordination." In practice, this legitimizes a process of technological, communications, intelligence, and espionage intervention.

1.    Unified intelligence: Sensors and radars installed on Argentine territory or platforms (such as WESCAM MX-10 cameras and B-360ER aircraft) will feed the Southern Command's data network in real time.

2.    Interoperability by contract: The use of Program 333 and participation in exercises such as "PANAMAX 2026" (authorized by DNU 650/2026 to circumvent Congress) had the true purpose of standardizing Argentine tactical manuals to the requirements of the Marines.

3.    Loss of operational autonomy: The setting of conflict hypotheses is no longer decided in Buenos Aires or in the National Congress, but at the JTF-WHEM headquarters in Florida.

The two sides of the model: US military bureaucracy and military personnel at Uber

Argentina's integration into this supranational military force exposes the greatest paradox of Milei's government's defense policy:

At the same time, Federico Sturzenegger 's advance to dissolve and merge the Navy with the Naval Prefecture now finds its perfect explanation: to be part of the JTF-WHEM , Argentina does not need a deterrent Fleet with sovereign combat capability, but a coastal interdiction maritime police force.

Extrajudicial executions and the danger of criminal prosecution

The publication in La Jornada adds an extremely serious element: the JTF-WHEM is launched amid an aggressive military escalation initiated by the Pentagon that includes attacks on boats under the unrestricted label of "narcoterrorism," a scheme denounced by US Senator Tim Kaine himself to CNN for having led to the illegal execution of people without trial.

Linking the Argentine Armed Forces to an international structure that carries out operations outside the bounds of international law and without the authorization of the National Congress exponentially worsens the legal situation of the national government. It is worth recalling that the criminal complaint filed by Congressman Juan Marino and constitutional law expert Eduardo Barcesat (case file 3303/2026 in Federal Court No. 10) accuses Javier Milei , Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno , and Defense Minister Carlos Presti of abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, and treason .

The final impact on the Malvinas

By subordinating itself to the "Donroe Doctrine" and the JTF-WHEM , Argentina relinquishes its doctrine of autonomous National Defense. If the South Atlantic becomes a "common space" monitored by this joint force led by a Marine general, the claim of sovereignty over the Malvina Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands is completely undermined.

The presence of the NATO military base at Mount Pleasant and the plundering of our fishing and oil resources are no longer being combated through diplomacy or sovereign deterrence; they are being made invisible by a regional pact where the U.S. — Britain's strategic and historical ally — decides who the threat is in the Western Hemisphere.