Panama Gets the First Wave
Several hundred U.S. Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, have begun deploying to Panama, according to the report. The first troops are expected to come from a battalion of roughly 600 soldiers. They are being forward-staged under U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, which will determine where they are ultimately used. That detail matters because this is not a single, neatly boxed assignment with every location already announced. It is a forward move tied to the Trump administration’s wider campaign against drug-trafficking networks in Latin America.
Training Comes Before the Wider Mission
The initial stop is a new jungle training facility in Panama. From there, the troops are expected to train with local forces in Colombia and Honduras. The reported plan also allows for a support role alongside U.S. special operations personnel who advise local militaries during raids against suspected drug traffickers. The official framing is training and joint exercises, while the possible assignments include advising and support during raids. The Pentagon’s nouns are tidy. The regional map is not.
Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division will help train forces in Central and South America to combat drug trafficking. https://t.co/3tIGepqQu1
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Panama Is Only One Piece
Separately, several hundred soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are expected to help staff a new Western Hemisphere military command in Miami. The deployment comes as Pentagon operations target suspected drug traffickers across Latin America and the Caribbean. The Hill described a multifront effort that has included attacks on alleged drug boats on both sides of the continent, interceptions of refueling vessels off Ecuador before their destruction, and U.S. special forces embedding with Ecuadorian authorities. The reported actions point to a regional campaign that is broader than a one-week training exercise.
SOUTHCOM Outlines Five Lines of Effort
SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan described the plan as five lines of effort: dismantling illicit networks, attacking their logistics, preventing those networks from regenerating, strengthening partner sovereignty and security, and building a coalition. The administration has also established the 19-member Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. According to the report, the United States has labeled 20 Latin American-based cartels and other criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations and began kinetic actions across the continent last fall. That is a major policy expansion, even when official statements wrap it in careful language about regional stability.
Ecuador Provides a Working Example
Ecuador shows how the partnership model is being used. The government has sought closer cooperation with U.S. forces against criminal syndicates including Los Choneros and Los Lobos, which the report says have ties to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel. About two weeks before the report, roughly 50 U.S. service members and law enforcement personnel took part in Ecuadorian police raids against alleged drug traffickers. A senior U.S. official said the U.S. military worked with Drug Enforcement Administration personnel and the Ecuadorian military before the raids.
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