US Deploys 600 Soldiers to Panama for Anti-Drug Push in Latin America
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 14
US Deploys 600 Soldiers to Panama for Anti-Drug Push in Latin America
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 14
Summary
The first elements of a 600-soldier 10th Mountain Division battalion have begun deploying to a new jungle training facility in Panama, opening a wider U.S. military role in Latin America’s anti-drug campaign.
The troops are set to train with local forces in Colombia and Honduras and could support U.S. Special Operations advisers working with militaries conducting raids on suspected drug traffickers.
Several hundred more 10th Mountain soldiers are also scheduled to staff a new Western Hemisphere operations command in Miami, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth builds a Pentagon office to oversee counter-cartel activity.
The move follows the Pentagon’s transfer of several MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador, signaling a broader expansion of U.S. counter-narcotics operations across the region.