SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: [In progress] control of the Strait of Hormuz. The United States of America, the US Navy ships like this one out there enforcing an ironclad blockade, Iran knows that. And so, the president has all the options at his disposal and will ensure, as we have from the beginning, that a maniacal regime like Iran never has a nuclear weapon. They can't. He's committed to that. And, they won't.
Q: Sir, how long can the US hold its blockade of the Strait? Can it hold it indefinitely?
SECRETARY HEGSETH: We can hold it as long as we need to. Indefinitely — the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have and we'll continue to. No other nation on earth, no other navy on earth has the capability to have a wall of steel like the US Navy, and then the willingness to use it as we have. So, Iran knows it can't get in and out on this blockade and they know that there's no timeline on it either. We'll hold it as long as we need to.
Q: Sir, could you comment on the report from — could you comment on the report from Democrats in Washington questioning the conditions of the USS Lincoln and situations with Marines aboard?
SECRETARY HEGSETH: Yeah, completely misrepresented. Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas and those austere conditions with less port calls, it's incredible. And Americans don't understand what it's like to do that.
So, as someone who's not been on a ship like that, but been on long deployments, I feel it. I want them home as soon as everybody else, too. I want folks rotated as quickly as possible. I want the best for them; my commanders know that, our service secretaries know that, the president expects that.
And so, to that crew and to all those crews, we're going to do everything we can for you. We are so grateful for their dedication of that crew and others. They've held the line for the country; they've done a fantastic job.
Q: Mr. Secretary —
Q: You have a very short naval blockade over in Iran, but essentially, we have a blockade on the cartels here in the Western Hemisphere. How far beyond the Western Hemisphere does this blockade on cartels extend?
SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, it's a great point because these are transnational cartels. We're looking mostly, for now, at their hemispheric influence. But the drugs don't just go to the United States, they go all around the world. And by cutting off the flow here, it affects countries elsewhere. And you want to squeeze them everywhere, but you can't do everything all at once.
So, we're starting with our hemisphere, the maritime routes that affect the American people, America First. The countries that can cut that off and that we can partner with, like here in Panama and Ecuador and Colombia, eventually Venezuela, to get at the heart of these. But as far as US naval power, again, no other country can project it like we can. And if these TCOs or DTOs want to head elsewhere and we can interdict and help with that, we'll certainly look at it.
Q: [Inaudible]
SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, you could do interdictions in INDOPACOM not just on fentanyl, but also on Iranian ships as well. So, the blockade of Iran also pertains to PACOM, and there are plenty of opportunities there also.
Q: So, this is the first year that PANAMAX joint exercises are being done since the ACCC and the nations that joined us. Is there a dynamic shift this year compared to previous PANAMAXs? And what is the impact of that cooperation?
SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, you could feel the momentum, it's a momentum of American leadership, but also eager partnership. And this is the first actual Panama — PANAMAX in Panama in 14 years. And as I talked to commanders here, they said, we basically did 14 years' worth of training here compared to what you can do in a command post or on a tabletop exercise. It's just not the same, you can feel it, you guys are all sweating like I am.
It's a whole other deal to be here in person and then partner with the Mexicans and the Panamanians and Ecuadorians and the Argentinians and the Costa Ricans. That matters. You had to fight through language barriers, you fight through TTPs and how you interoperate. It's going to make us more effective as we continue to do it. It also sends a signal to the world that the Panama Canal will be protected — the sovereignty of it; the ability for
American ships to transit freely no matter — the contingency is ironclad. And a lot of that is underwritten by the Navy, which is why we're so focused also on our budget to make sure that we deliver the kind of resources we need to maintain that kind of fleet around the world. One more.
Q: NATO, for example, has members that don't pull their weight. But with the addition of Colombia yesterday, that's 19 countries in ACCC, PANAMAX. Is there any country you'd like to see more cooperation from or is this very much so a united effort?
SECRETARY HEGSETH: I'd like to see more cooperation from Cuba, whether they want to or not. Ultimately, you know, they've been threatening the United States for a very long time, allowing foreign nations' malign actors to spy on America from there. Are they acquiring weapons that could reach the United States of America? That's concerning.
So, the ACCC is free countries willing to collaborate together to take on cartels. It's growing, it's got real momentum. You're going to see some things in the coming weeks that are really important, but countries like Cuba are on notice. We're not going to tolerate that kind of malign influence in our hemisphere. Call it the "Donroe Doctrine" or the Trump Corollary of the Monroe Doctrine, it's a real thing and our job is to deliver our War Department's component of it. Last thing.
Q: Can you guarantee that — the local Panamanian people, once the US takes more control of the canal, what things can they look forward to?
SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, they've already seen it, it's not even control as much as it is partnership. When we're here, both countries have more control over what flows through and how that's dictated. That's good for Panama, it's good for the United States of America, and they've already seen a great deal of benefit.
Ten — hundreds of millions of dollars poured into the Panamanian economy and security forces, so they're more capable. And then you were at the jungle school with us yesterday, you've seen the forces and headquarters that we now have here, the naval assets, the air assets, the Coast Guard cutters, right over here.
The Americans are here and here to stay and it's a good partnership here to defend the Panama Canal. Thank you all very much, appreciate it.