In May, the Donald Trump administration presented its new counterterrorism (CT) plan. It identified the three major types of terrorists that it will focus on: narcoterrorists and cartels that plague the Western Hemisphere, legacy Jihadists, and left-wing violent groups, like Antifa.
Of those groups, the cartels and narcoterrorists are top priority. After all, they do operate just miles away from our borders and shores.
Our CT Strategy first prioritizes the neutralization of hemispheric terror threats by incapacitating cartel operations until these groups are incapable of bringing their drugs, their members, and their trafficked victims into the United States. At the same time, we will continue to find and remove the cartel and gang members who were let into our country under the Biden Administration while using FTO designations to strangle the commercial and logistical sinews of their organizations.
We've already seen this in action over the last year — the removal of Nicolás Maduro was a big part of that. We've blown up narco-boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters surrounding South and Central America, and we've taken out major drug lords and cartel leaders. We've also vowed to provide security assistance, through the Shield of the Americas, to any country in the hemisphere that is looking to help eradicate this type of organized narco-crime, and we've seen that happen in countries like Ecuador.
But there is much more going on that doesn't often make big headlines, and occasionally, I get emails from some of you who want to know what else we're doing, so I like to cover some of the lesser known activities occasionally. Here are two of them from Argentina and Costa Rica.
First up, let's go to Buenos Aires, where Rodolfo Junior Aguirre Covarrubias, a 38-year-old Mexican national, was arrested in the lobby of a luxury Hilton hotel in Puerto Madero over the weekend. Argentine authorities were quick to grab him after he'd entered their country. National Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva announced the news of his arrest almost immediately, and an image of him dressed to the nines was posted to state social media. According to Infobae, he was also photographed shirtless with the revolutionary phrase "I prefer to die on my feet than live on my knees" tattooed across his chest.
Aguirre Covarrubias was wanted in the United States by the Northern District of Illinois for possession, distribution, and sale of more than 10 kilograms of cocaine back in 2016. He was released on bail, but he did not follow the conditions imposed by the court and skipped town. He's been on the run ever since and actually had an Interpol Red Notice on his head.
What concerns many people is that it's not clear if he's just some random narco or if he's got a direct tie to a cartel and is part of a much bigger system. He claims he was in Buenos Aires for a medical conference and that he works for a stem cell and regenerative business. Investigators found that he had a departure ticket for Colombia. Either way, his travel plans have changed. He'll be extradited to the United States to face justice now.
Argentine authorities arrested Mexican national Rodolfo Junior Aguirre Covarrubias in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires. The suspect, who was the subject of an international arrest warrant, is wanted by U.S. authorities for alleged drug trafficking crimes. The operation was carried out… pic.twitter.com/ddjloYYGPf
— Cartel Watch (@CartelWatchNet) July 11, 2026
DETUVIERON EN PUERTO MADERO A UN MEXICANO BUSCADO POR EE.UU. POR NARCOTRÁFICO
— Clarín (@clarincom) July 12, 2026
Rodolfo Junior Aguirre Covarrubias, de 38 años, fue detenido en el Hotel Hilton cuando se dirigía a una cena vinculada con una conferencia internacional de salud. Interpol había emitido una… pic.twitter.com/1zeAz4hc6K
A little further north, along Costa Rica's Pacific Coast near the beautiful Osa Peninsula, a U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) led counternarcotics operation led to the seizure of more than two tons of cocaine, three narcos (from Ecuador and Colombia), and a speedboat.
According to AM Costa Rica, SOUTHCOM spotted a "38-foot go-fast boat traveling along the Pacific coast without visible registration numbers or a national flag" and alerted Costa Rican authorities. They intercepted the boat and towed it to a Coast Guard station in Golfito, where the men will likely be detained until a trial is held.
Costa Rica, in particular, has really ramped up its cooperation with the United States on counternarcotic activity over the last year or so, and I suspect that will continue even more under the new president Laura Fernández Delgado, who is incredibly pro-United States and has promised a Nayib Bukele-style crackdown on crime.
