MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Hundreds of people in the year since the U.S. military it accused of ferrying drugs off Latin America’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Now, the Trump administration says it is seeking to extend that lethal campaign to land, pursuing deals that would put U.S. forces on the ground in allied nations across the region.
President Donald Trump鈥檚 defense secretary, , announced last week during a visit to Panama that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups on their soil, following Ecuador, which with the U.S. in March. Guatemala, however, has denied reaching such an agreement.
It will be 鈥渓ike you saw with the strikes on the drug boats,鈥� Hegseth said during a military drill in the jungle in Panama. 鈥淪ame effect on land. And so we鈥檙e working with Ecuador. We鈥檙e working with Colombia. We鈥檙e working with partners to bring the fight to the (designated terrorist organizations) on land.鈥�
The expansion marks a new phase in the Trump administration鈥檚 campaign to pressure governments across Latin America to align with its security priorities and assert 鈥淎merican dominance over the Western Hemisphere.”
Voters across the region are Trump-aligned leaders, giving Washington more willing partners. But critics warn that the widening U.S. military campaign risks and a backlash against the U.S. that could outlast the Republican administration.
鈥淲hat’s going on is an attempt to legitimize the increased use of the U.S. military in the region,鈥� said Michael Shifter, a Latin America expert at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank. 鈥淚t projects power, demonstrates military superiority and enables Washington to impose its agenda. This is not cooperation, it鈥檚 obviously a very asymmetrical relationship.鈥�
Escalating unilateral boat strikes to joint land operations
The U.S. military has operated in Latin America for generations, supplying allies with weapons, intelligence and training to fight drug trafficking, while leaving a fraught legacy of support for military coups and dictatorships.
But since Trump returned to office in January 2025, Washington has pursued to the region in decades.
His administration has designated as 鈥渇oreign terrorist organizations,鈥� sent U.S. forces into Venezuela to and involved in Mexico. It has killed more than 200 people in over 60 boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, offering little evidence that those targeted were 鈥渘arco-terrorists鈥� and about the strikes鈥� legality.
But sustained U.S. combat operations alongside local forces would be 鈥渘ew and different,鈥� said William LeoGrande, a Latin America specialist at American University, testing deep-rooted sensitivities over national sovereignty and the presence of U.S. troops.
Hegseth provided few details about what joint operations with Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras would look like. But in Colombia, where Trump-backed took office this month, he raised the prospect of U.S. forces joining strikes against armed groups including the , Colombia鈥檚 last major guerrilla group. Hegseth said de la Espriella had requested greater U.S. military involvement.
鈥淎nywhere you traffic drugs or you threaten the American people or our partners, you are a target just like ISIS or al-Qaida,鈥� Hegseth said, equating drug traffickers with Islamic extremist groups that dominated U.S. national security priorities for decades.
On Saturday, following a drone attack by the ELN on troops, de la Espriella vowed the rebels would 鈥減ay a high price.”
Concerns over US military presence in Latin America
Ecuador has emerged as the clearest case of direct U.S. military involvement, launching joint raids with Washington despite voters overwhelmingly rejecting foreign military bases in a . A New York Times investigation found that one strike on an alleged drug lab in March instead destroyed a cattle farm.
The push to extend such agreements has gained the most traction among Trump鈥檚 ideological allies in the region 鈥� elected on promises of aggressive crackdowns on crime in .
Guatemala stands out as an exception. Its progressive government has worked closely with Washington on security despite political differences. But President Bernardo Ar茅valo to joint anti-drug operations, saying they would be illegal without congressional approval.
Honduras, Colombia and Ecuador did not respond to requests for comment on Hegseth鈥檚 remarks.
A notable outlier from the new U.S. anti-trafficking alliance is Mexico, a major source and transit point for fentanyl and other drugs entering the U.S. Progressive President Claudia Sheinbaum has cooperated closely with Washington on security but resisted mounting pressure for a U.S. military role in fighting cartels on Mexican soil.
鈥淯ltimately, the United States will have to define what 鈥榡oint operations鈥� means in each of these countries. It may discover pretty quickly that this is something most governments 鈥� even governments on the right 鈥� are quite uncomfortable with,” said Adam Isacson, a defense analyst with the Washington Office on Latin America.
‘There is only so much sovereignty they can cede’
Observers question whether a more militarized approach would produce lasting security gains. Shifter said the campaign may serve partly as a show of force, building on the capture of as the Trump administration seeks to offset elsewhere, including in the .
Others warn the strategy risks , where armed groups operate among civilian populations and often function as de facto authorities in areas beyond the state鈥檚 reach. Rather than beating back those groups, military strikes are more likely to force them to adapt, said Jeremy McDermott, co-director of the Colombia-based investigative organization InSight Crime.
鈥淭he U.S. bombs an ELN camp in Colombia or in Venezuela, what is the first thing the ELN are going to do? They鈥檙e going to dismantle all their camps and move into the villages and towns,鈥� he said.
In the long term, experts say, deeper U.S. military involvement could test how far voters are willing to go in putting security over sovereignty, potentially constraining even Trump鈥檚 closest allies.
鈥淎ll of these presidents, no matter how far right they are, face pressure to do something about security and to make a show of pursuing the 鈥榖ad guys鈥� who are making people feel unsafe. There is broad agreement on that,” Isacson said. 鈥淏ut they also know there is only so much sovereignty they can cede before public opinion begins turning against them.”
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DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press journalists Sonia P茅rez D. in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Marlon Gonz谩lez in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Astrid Su谩rez in Bogot谩, Colombia, contributed to this report.
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