Colombia Deploys 1,100 Troops to Santa Marta as Vice President Rules Out U.S. Ground Role
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 25
Colombia Deploys 1,100 Troops to Santa Marta as Vice President Rules Out U.S. Ground Role
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 25
Summary
More than 500 soldiers and 600 police were sent into Santa Marta after the ACSN armed group launched an "armed strike" with threats, roadblocks, shop attacks and burned vehicles.
The violence followed the reported killing of 13 ACSN members, including a senior leader, as President Abelardo De La Espriella's government intensified operations against drug-trafficking and armed groups.
Vice President José Manuel Restrepo said Colombia backs Trump's new hemispheric security alliance but insisted Colombian forces—not U.S. troops—would conduct operations, with Washington limited to intelligence, technology and security support.
The tougher line marks a break from former President Gustavo Petro's "total peace" talks, as the new government restores arrest warrants, pushes extraditions and says roughly 30% of regions lacked effective state control when it took office.
Colombia also suspended diplomatic relations with Iran and used the UN General Assembly to press for a global definition of terrorism, tying its domestic crackdown to a broader regional and international security agenda.