Not the Middle East: US Suddenly Prepares Major Military Operation Here
The United States has opened the possibility of conducting joint military operations with Colombia to destroy armed groups accused of involvement in terror networks and drug trafficking. The signal was conveyed by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as he welcomed Colombia into the Washington-led counter-cartel coalition.
Hegseth said Colombia had granted authority to carry out joint military operations to destroy terrorist groups and terror networks. The statement was made at a meeting of the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition led by the US in Panama.
When asked whether he had discussed the possibility of joint strikes with his Colombian counterpart against armed groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) and remnants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Hegseth replied, “Yes.”
The ELN is a group designated by the US as a terrorist organisation.
Hegseth went further in indicating the possibility of direct US military involvement in such operations.
“Designated terrorist organisations, along with partner governments, will be legitimate targets for the United States government,” Hegseth said when asked whether such operations were expected to be carried out, as quoted by Reuters.
The meeting in Panama demonstrated the widening scope of US President Donald Trump’s policy in Latin America. Washington’s policy in the region is no longer focused solely on the Panama Canal, but now also encompasses operations against drug trafficking and armed groups.
Since September last year, more than 200 people have died in a series of US military strikes on vessels suspected of carrying drugs.
In January, a US-led commando operation also toppled Nicolas Maduro from the presidency of Venezuela.
These military measures have drawn criticism. Critics argue that US strikes on vessels suspected of drug links could be categorised as war crimes warranting attention from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Hegseth, however, condemned the organisation. He also urged partner countries attending the Panama meeting to withdraw from the ICC.
Hegseth equated drug trafficking groups with terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State.
In a speech at a hotel in Panama City, Hegseth also revived a concept he called an updated Monroe Doctrine. The 19th-century Monroe policy asserted the dominant position of the US in the Americas and is often linked by critics to the history of Washington’s intervention in the region.
Hegseth referred to the new version of the policy as the “Donroe Doctrine”, a play on the surnames of Trump and Monroe.
“We will defend our hemisphere from external threats,” Hegseth said. Those threats, according to him, include drug traffickers as well as foreign influence deemed harmful.
Colombia’s Response
The new Colombian government was among those welcoming the approach. Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella pledged a massive security crackdown, which subsequently received support from the Trump administration.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced plans to provide US$1 billion in security assistance to the De La Espriella government.
In his inauguration speech on Friday, De La Espriella vowed to “definitively eradicate the scourge of illegal crops” and also expressed his commitment to joining the Shield of the Americas programme established by Trump.
De La Espriella previously blamed his predecessor, left-leaning President Gustavo Petro, for the expansion of armed groups in Colombia.
At the same meeting with Hegseth, Colombian Defence Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora, a retired major general, said his country could play an important role in combating drug traffickers in the Pacific and Caribbean coastal regions.
“I think the time has come for narco-terrorist cartels to face the strength and capability of the entire hemisphere, led by the United States,” Mora said.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the new security partnership is expected to surpass the level of cooperation previously carried out through Plan Colombia.
Plan Colombia was a US-Colombia counter-narcotics initiative launched in the early 2000s.
Political Shift in Latin America
Colombia’s new government joining the security partnership with Washington also comes amid a broader rightward political shift across Latin America.
The election of De La Espriella is part of that change.
In Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru, weak economic conditions and rising criminality have shifted voter priorities. The situation has given space for hard-right candidates previously on the political fringes to gain support.
These candidates offer an approach of harsh crackdowns on criminality amid rising right-wing nationalism globally.
Meanwhile, Panama has also become increasingly important in Trump’s strategy for the region.
The Trump administration secured a major victory from Panama’s Supreme Court in January after Washington raised concerns about growing Chinese influence.
CK Hutchison, based in Hong Kong, through its local unit Panama Ports Company, lost a port concession it had held for nearly three decades.
Panama’s position is strategic because the Panama Canal handles around 5% of global maritime trade. This makes the ports at the canal’s entrances one of the sensitive points.