The Pentagon is significantly expanding its military campaign against Latin American drug cartels under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Following a Caribbean boat strike on October 4, 2026, that killed four people, the U.S. is shifting from maritime operations to active land-based interventions. U.S. special forces recently embedded with Ecuadorian police for ground raids, while MQ-9 Reaper drones have been redeployed from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador to track cartel networks. Critics and United Nations experts warn these lethal operations may violate international law.
Expanding regional cooperation
- ▪The United States military is expanding its counter-cartel operations in South America, shifting from maritime boat strikes to planned land strikes and increased regional cooperation.
- ▪The United States established the 19-member Americas Counter Cartel Coalition to deepen defense cooperation and counter transnational organized crime.
Hegseth's proposals for regional operations
- ▪Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras agreed to joint counter-crime military operations on their soil, though Guatemala subsequently disputed this claim.
- ▪Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on October 3, 2026, that some United States troops could be redeployed from Europe to the Western Hemisphere to combat drug cartels.
U.S. military operations in Ecuador
- ▪United States Marines have been stationed at Taura Air Base in Ecuador since August 2026, utilizing AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma unmanned aircraft systems for unit-level training.
- ▪Approximately 50 United States service members and law enforcement personnel embedded with Ecuadorian police to conduct raids against alleged drug traffickers in Ecuador in late September 2026.
Redeployment of MQ-9 Reaper drones
- ▪The redeployment of MQ-9 Reaper drones to South America occurs despite a shortage in the United States fleet, which lost approximately 45 aircraft during the war in Iran.
- ▪The United States military transferred a number of MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa Command to Colombia and Ecuador to assist in tracking and surveilling drug cartels.
U.S. military maritime strike campaign
- ▪The United States military has offered no physical evidence that the vessels targeted in its maritime strike campaign were actively carrying illicit drugs.
- ▪A United States military strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea on October 4, 2026, killed four people.
- ▪The United States military has conducted at least 71 maritime strikes and killed 239 alleged narco-terrorists since launching its campaign in September 2025.
- ▪United Nations experts warned that the United States military's lethal boat strikes violate international law and could amount to crimes against humanity.
Debate over military strategy
- ▪Benjamin Gedan of the Stimson Center criticized the Pentagon's strategy, arguing that mislabeling drug gangs as terrorists and executing strikes will do little to disrupt major drug lords.
- ▪Former acting Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Derek Maltz defended the aggressive tactics, arguing that they are necessary to combat terrorists who are destroying the country's future.
Debatable claims
- ▪A military-first strategy is more effective against drug cartels than strengthening local institutions
- ▪US military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels are justified
- ▪Joint US military operations on foreign soil infringe on Latin American sovereignty
- ▪The US military should expand its counter-cartel operations to include land strikes
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