BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Aug 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Representatives of security agencies from around 100 countries, including the head of the US Drug Enforcement Agency, held talks on Wednesday in Argentina on how to jointly combat drug trafficking.

Argentina is one of over a dozen pro-US administrations in Latin America to have joined President Donald Trump's Shield of the Americas anti-cartel alliance.

"You don't negotiate with the narcos. You combat them with determination, cooperation, and firm policies that hold up over time," Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva, who co-hosted the meeting with DEA director Terrance Cole, wrote on X.

The US ambassador to Argentina, Peter Lamelas, told the gathering that Washington was working "hand in hand with Argentina and democratic countries against cartels, criminal networks and terrorists."

"No country is immune and no country can fight this battle alone," he said in Spanish.

This is the first time that Argentina is hosting the annual International Drug Enforcement Conference, which was launched by the DEA in 1983.

Mexico's high-profile Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch, who was also in attendance, touted President Claudia Sheinbaum's record on fighting her country's powerful cartels, including the extradition of dozens of kingpins to the United States.

"No criminal organization can be stronger than the States when we act in coordination, with determination, and with absolute respect for the sovereignty of each nation," Harfuch, dubbed "Batman" for his tough approach to drug trafficking, wrote on X.

His remarks on sovereignty echoed repeated warnings by the left-wing Sheinbaum about US intervention in her country's war on drugs.

Mexico said last month it was investigating whether the US violated international law in the 2024 capture of druglord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was kidnapped and brought to the United States, where he is now behind bars.

Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly declared that drug cartels control Mexico and warned he will use boots on the ground south of the border if Sheinbaum doesn't crack down.