US Expands Anti-Cartel Operations From Sea To Land In Latin America

The United States is expanding its military campaign against drug cartels from maritime strikes to operations on land across Latin America, as the Trump administration seeks deeper security cooperation with governments in the Western Hemisphere.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow US forces to conduct joint operations against criminal groups on their territory, following similar operations launched with Ecuador in March.

"It will be 'like you saw with the strikes on the drug boats'," Hegseth said during a military drill in Panama. "Same effect on land. And so we're working with Ecuador. We're working with Colombia. We're working with partners to bring the fight to the ... organisations on land."

As per AP, US forces have killed more than 200 people in over 60 boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific over the past year. The strikes have faced questions over the evidence used to identify those targeted and their legality.

Southcom Changes Mission

The expansion comes alongside a broader shift in the mission of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

During a visit to Panama, Hegseth said the command was now focused more directly on protecting the Western Hemisphere and working with regional partners against what Washington describes as shared security threats.

"This is a different Southcom; this is a different mission," Hegseth said. "We are focused on military capabilities against real threats who need to be deterred and defeated."

SOUTHCOM said the new approach involves closer cooperation with Panama, Ecuador and Colombia, while the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition now includes 19 countries. Hegseth said the partners face common threats from drugs and criminal cartels.

Counter-Cartel Framework

The shift builds on a March joint security declaration signed by several countries participating in the Americas Counter Cartel Conference.

The declaration called for expanded bilateral and multilateral cooperation on border security, countering narco-terrorism and trafficking, protecting critical infrastructure and joining a coalition against narco-terrorism and other threats in the Western Hemisphere.

SOUTHCOM's 2026 posture statement similarly identified countering foreign terrorist organisations and strengthening partner capabilities as central priorities. It said the command would expand support for regional forces fighting groups including the ELN and FARC dissidents, using intelligence, special operations forces, unmanned systems and other capabilities.

Exercise PANAMAX 2026, which concluded this month, further demonstrated the military cooperation Washington is seeking. The exercise involved multinational forces training for maritime and land scenarios, including a simulated defence of the Panama Canal.

Operation Southern Spear                          

The land expansion also follows Operation Southern Spear, launched in 2025 to disrupt narcotics flows from cartels that Washington has designated as terrorist organisations.

A Pentagon inspector general report said the operation had involved military personnel, naval vessels and air assets in the Caribbean and that US forces had carried out strikes and interdictions against suspected drug trafficking. The report also noted that cartels had adapted by shifting towards air routes, shipping containers and routes farther west in the Pacific.

The expansion marks a broader attempt by Washington to make counter-cartel operations a central military and security priority across the Western Hemisphere, with US forces increasingly working alongside regional militaries on land as well as at sea.