The United States has deployed several hundred soldiers to Latin America as the Pentagon significantly expands its military campaign targeting narcotics trafficking networks, according to a report by The New York Times.
Initial elements of a 600-soldier battalion from the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York, have begun occupying a newly established jungle training facility in Panama. These personnel are scheduled to train alongside armed forces in Colombia and Honduras. Their potential missions include supporting US Special Operations troops who advise partner units on direct counter-cartel raids.
Additionally, other division personnel will contribute to staffing a newly formed Western Hemisphere operations command located in Miami.
These troop movements follow earlier strategic shifts, including the redeployment of multiple MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador. The Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, also established a dedicated counter-cartel oversight office as part of the broader effort.
Later this month, the deployed soldiers are slated to participate in the Southern Vanguard joint military exercises in Colombia.
While US officials have characterized these deployments as rotational, they acknowledged that the mission could evolve into an enduring regional military presence. Washington continues to lobby regional governments to authorize combined operations and escalate offensives against cartels, though only a few countries, specifically Colombia and Honduras, have formally agreed to such terms.
To date, the US military has reportedly executed 71 boat strikes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. These operations have resulted in the deaths of at least 239 individuals, whom the US claimed were narcotics traffickers, without making evidence public.
