WASHINGTON

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the US has achieved “operational control” of its southern border, describing the situation as one in which illegal crossings have dropped to zero.

"We now have operational control of our southern border. Zero people are crossing our southern border. We will not rest until we have complete operational control of every inch of all of our borders," Hegseth said at the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference in the state of Florida.

The conference at the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters in Doral brings together regional defense and security leaders from across the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Hegseth pointed to a sharp decline in maritime interdiction targets in recent weeks.

"Last month, we went a few weeks without targeting a single boat. Why? Well, because we couldn't find a whole lot of boats to sink. And that's the whole point -- is to establish deterrence from narco-terrorists who have been able to traffic almost unfettered," he said.

The Trump administration has intensified military operations in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean since September, citing efforts against narcotics trafficking.

Hegseth said border security must "be your top priority," reiterating that it is national security.

"We've had great collaboration with many countries in recent months, and I want to thank every country in this room that has supported our access to find fix and finish cartel targets; we have only just begun to work with you," he said.

Hegseth said every partner in the region has to do more and invest more in security.

US will not 'cede an inch' in Western Hemisphere fight against cartels

SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, for his part, said narco-traffickers and drug cartels engage in campaigns of "terror, violence and corruption" to enrich themselves and expand their influence.

"They are poisoning and killing all of our nation's citizens. These sophisticated networks flood our streets with fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs that kill at a higher rate than any conventional war. This is the single greatest threat to security in our region and across our hemisphere," Donovan said.

The commander also called on the countries to unite and share the burden to prevent adversaries from using the region to further "their maligned agendas."

Top White House aide Stephen Miller said the US will not "cede an inch" in the Western Hemisphere’s fight against cartels.

"The cartels that operate in this hemisphere are the ISIS and the Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere and should be treated just as brutally and just as ruthlessly as we treat those organizations,” he said. “There’s not a criminal justice solution to the cartel problem ... these organizations can only be defeated with military power."

Miller noted the Trump administration would provide “unwavering support” across multiple federal agencies for a campaign "to eradicate the criminal cartels and terrorist organizations" of their power.