Pentagon Sends 600 Soldiers Into Latin America As Trump Turns Up Heat On Cartels

A 600-troop battalion stationed at Fort Drum, New York has begun deploying to Latin America.

This battalion from the 10th Mountain Division is deploying as part of the Pentagon’s increased efforts to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, the New York Times reported Wednesday. The troops will begin with training at a new jungle warfare facility in Panama, then eventually training partner forces in Colombia and Honduras.

They also may assist special operations forces in advising militaries conducting raids against suspected drug traffickers. In addition to this deployment, several hundred soldiers from the 10th mountain division will assist in staffing a new command supporting western hemisphere in Miami, an anonymous military official told the outlet. (RELATED: Trump Reportedly Authorizes Military To Target ‘Terrorist’ Drug Cartels)

“We do not disclose details or comment on U.S. personnel deployment or operational movements due to operational security concerns,” United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) media relations officer Steven McLoud told the DCNF when asked for confirmation of the deployment.

The U.S. is deploying several hundred troops from the 10th Mountain Division to Latin America as the Pentagon expands its campaign against drug cartels. A 600-soldier battalion has begun deploying to Panama, with troops also expected to train in Colombia and Honduras and potentially support special operations against traffickers. The Pentagon has also moved MQ-9 Reaper drones to Colombia and Ecuador, while U.S. commanders are planning to expand strikes from boats to land targets. Source: NYT

Over the past several months, the Pentagon has drastically increased its counter-cartel actions in the Western Hemisphere. American special forces partnered with Ecuadorian law enforcement to take down a drug trafficking ring with ties to Mexican cartels on Sept. 24. Five hundred troops were deployed to the Rio Grande Valley on the U.S.-Mexico border on Oct. 2. Most recently, Reaper drones previously used to target jihadi terrorists were redeployed from Africa to South America.

For decades, Latin America has not been a primary focus of the United States Military. Meanwhile, China has gained economic dominance with its Belt and Road Initiative and transnational organized crime has run rampant.

“We have ceded economic dominance in the region to an adversary, and that is a fact … we are fighting now to retake terrain — maritime and land, human terrain, cognitive terrain — in many cases that we’ve given up previously,” the Army’s Western Hemisphere Command leader, General Joseph A. Ryan remarked at the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) October annual meeting in Washington, D.C.