U.S. Deploys Army Troops to Latin America Against Cartels

The United States is expanding its counter-drug campaign in Latin America by deploying several hundred Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division. The troops are first arriving at a jungle training facility in Panama, with planned rotations to Colombia and Honduras to train local forces and support potential Special Operations raids.

To support these land operations, the military is relocating MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth established a new Pentagon office to oversee these activities, while General Francis L. Donovan announced a shift in strategy to expand from maritime strikes to land-based strikes. The administration has also formed a 19-nation military coalition to dismantle cartels and established a new command for Western Hemisphere operations in Miami.

Army Western Hemisphere Command head Joseph A. Ryan stated that the U.S. is fighting to retake maritime, land, human, and cognitive terrain that was previously lost. While the government urges regional leaders to increase military offensives, human rights groups and legal experts have raised concerns regarding national sovereignty and the risk of civilian casualties.