Colombia has authorized joint military operations with the United States to combat drug trafficking, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. This move expands Washington's campaign against cartels in Latin America. Bogota has requested the Pentagon's involvement in its fight against narco-terrorism, authorizing joint military operations to dismantle terrorist and terror networks. Hegseth highlighted this as an example of active, operationally focused participation from partners.
US Campaign Against Drug Cartels
Last September, the US military launched a campaign of airstrikes targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in at least 215 deaths to date. The Trump administration has not provided definitive evidence that these vessels were involved in drug trafficking. Legal experts and rights groups have criticized the strikes, suggesting they could amount to extrajudicial killings as they targeted civilians who did not pose an immediate threat to the United States.
Colombia's New Stance on Drug Trafficking
Colombia's newly elected President Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to crush criminal groups profiting from drug trafficking amid the country's worst wave of violence in the past decade. De la Espriella, a hard-right leader who replaced leftist Gustavo Petro, has promised to halt unsuccessful peace negotiations with armed groups and confront 'narcoterrorism without respite.' He plans to intensify airstrikes against guerrillas and drug traffickers and has offered to host US troops on Colombian soil.
De la Espriella aims to forge a military alliance with the United States and Israel to aid his war on guerrillas. His 'Plan Colombia II' is a nod to a multimillion-dollar agreement with Washington in the 2000s aimed at combating drug cartels and leftist groups. The US State Department announced last week that the Trump administration intends to work with Congress to provide $1 billion in assistance as part of a security package to support the new administration.
