US Plans Ground Attacks Against Drug Cartels in Latin America

The United States plans to launch ground attacks targeting drug cartels in Latin America. This move expands US anti-narcotics operations, which have included aerial strikes against ships suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Since September 2025, the bombing operations have killed at least 215 people and have drawn sharp criticism as extrajudicial killings. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking during a visit to Panama, said the US hopes to deploy troops alongside partner nations. “Wherever you traffic drugs or threaten the American people or our partners, you are a target, just like ISIS or Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth warned the cartels. Hegseth was in Panama to attend an annual joint military exercise involving more than 20 countries. The anti-cartel coalition includes right-wing governments such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Peru. Mexico, home to powerful cartels, is not part of the coalition.