US urges Latin American nations to withdraw from ICC
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday urged Latin American countries that are members of the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition (ACCC) to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the judicial body of undermining national sovereignty.
“I strongly encourage every ACCC member to leave the ICC and reject their efforts to seize sovereignty from your governments and your courts,” Hegseth said in a speech in Panama.
He argued that every country should retain the authority to deploy its forces and protect its citizens under its own laws and constitution.
“Our nations maintain sovereignty and the ability to deploy our own warriors to defend ourselves,” said Hegseth, who is championing what he calls a “warrior culture” initiative.
“We are accountable only to our own citizens and our own constitutions, not to unelected international bureaucrats.”
He also accused the ICC of seeking to establish jurisdiction over US military personnel and those of partner nations and their military operations, calling the move “an unlawful power grab.”
As defence secretary and previously, Hegseth has argued that unnecessary rules force US soldiers to fight with “one hand tied behind their back”, while stressing that the primary consideration should be “lethality”.
He also urged US President Donald Trump to intervene in defence of military personnel facing war crimes accusations.
Hegseth also announced that Colombia would join the ACCC and said Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella had asked the US to participate in his country’s fight against narco-terrorism.
“I am also proud to announce that Colombia will join the ACCC as its 19th member. And through its newly inaugurated president, whom our president likes to call President ‘El Tigre’, Colombia has asked the War Department to join Colombia’s fight against narco-terrorism, by allowing joint military operations to destroy terrorist networks and terror,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth’s remarks came amid Washington’s increasingly aggressive campaign against the ICC.
Trump said efforts by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “subdue the International Criminal Court” were aimed at protecting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and others facing scrutiny by the court.
At a meeting at Camp David last month, Rubio said the ICC had “made itself illegitimate” by claiming jurisdiction over countries that are not members. Trump subsequently said Rubio was seeking to “defend Bibi and various other parties”.
The US is not a party to the ICC and has long opposed the court’s jurisdiction. Washington stepped up pressure on the court after the ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant over alleged crimes in the Gaza Strip.