Pete Hegseth announces Trump’s new ‘Greater North American’ Western Hemisphere map — it’s the US against ‘the global south’

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump had “drawn a new strategic map” during a speech at the Americas Counter Cartel Conference hosted at U.S. Southern Command in Florida on March 5, 2026.

In his speech, Hegseth called everything north of the equator in the Western Hemisphere “Greater North America.” Meanwhile, everything south of the equator was newly christened “the Global South.”

“A new strategic map from Greenland to the Gulf of America”

Hegseth’s exact words were, “Trump has drawn a new strategic map from Greenland to the Gulf of America” — formerly the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump renamed early in his second term — “We call this map the Greater North America,” Hegseth said, adding,

Every sovereign nation north of the equator is not part of the global south; it is part of the security perimeter in this great neighborhood that we all live in.”

Hegseth’s mention of a “new map” confused many, and understandably so, as Trump has suggested everything from annexing Greenland to making Canada the 51st state.

What Hegseth meant

Hegseth’s comments to defense and security officials from across the Western Hemisphere weren’t literally about redrawing political borders on a map, however.

Instead, it was rhetorical and strategic, aiming to justify what the administration sees as a renewed U.S. focus on defending the hemisphere, especially against threats like drug cartels and other non‑state actors.

It also reflects a shift in U.S. defense posture that frames the Western Hemisphere as a unified security zone. The concept advances a broader geopolitical argument that rejects the “Global South” label for countries in the Americas, instead portraying the United States and its regional neighbors as part of a shared Western security community.

“Greater North America,” big “Greater Reich feeling”

Critics, however, argue the rhetoric reflects an aggressive reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine that could militarize U.S.–Latin American relations and risk undermining regional sovereignty. They point to a marked increase in U.S. naval and military action against suspected drug‑linked vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, where more than a hundred people have been killed in controversial strikes that rights groups and legal experts say may amount to extrajudicial killings under international law.

Latin American political leaders have responded unevenly, with some right‑wing governments expressing support for closer security cooperation, while others—especially from major drug‑producing nations like Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil—reject the strategy as a form of U.S. interventionism reminiscent of past hemispheric dominance policies. Critics note that the emphasis on military force over civilian rule‑of‑law institutions could deepen corruption and human rights abuses in countries where oversight is weak.

And, as Hegseth’s comments spread online, one comment noted, “‘The GREATER NORTH AMERICA ,’ from Greenland to the Equator, has a Greater Reich feeling, a lebensraum echo, given what we are seeing the Trump administration do.”

The comment added, “Greenland is under terrible pressure. Cuba is their next target. When will it be Canada’s turn? And Hegseth told us: no silly rules of engagement. No political correctness. The economic strangulation of Canada has already begun — that we know.”