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Secretary Hegseth Addresses the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition Conference in Panama City, Aug. 12, 2026

August 12, 2026 · Department of War · 0:56:27

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke during an Americas Counter Cartel Coalition conference in Panama City on August 12, 2026, in full remarks published by the Department of War. The Panama City conference was the centerpiece of a Panama visit that also took the Secretary to the Jungle Operations Training Course, where he held a full press gaggle the following day, paged separately on this site.

Why it matters

The counter-cartel mission is the Western Hemisphere half of the department’s current operations, and the coalition conference format is how it is run with partner nations: the Secretary of War addressing the assembled partners in the region, rather than announcing policy from Washington.

Sources: U.S. Department of War, “Secretary Hegseth Remarks at the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition Conference,” August 12, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). No transcript is published with the upload; this page records the event as the department published it.