Hegseth travels to Panama as US deepens defense cooperation
Hegseth said Colombia will join the coalition as the Trump administration expands security aid and joint operations against drug traffickers.
- On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed Colombia into the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition in Panama, following the recent inauguration of President Abelardo De La Espriella.
- President Donald Trump's administration announced $1 billion in security assistance for Colombia on Friday as Espriella vowed to "definitively eradicate the scourge of illicit crops" and joined the Shield program.
- Invoking a revamped "Donroe Doctrine" in Panama City, Hegseth compared drug traffickers to terrorists and confirmed Colombia authorized "joint military operations to destroy terrorists and terror networks" with Defense Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora.
- Panama President Jose Raul Mulino called drug trafficking the region's biggest threat while dismissing sovereignty concerns, as the Panama Canal handles 5% of global maritime trade and remains strategically vital.
- Urging coalition allies to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, Hegseth highlighted escalating U.S. policy since last September, when strikes killed more than 200 people, followed by a January raid deposing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
28 Articles
28 Articles
US Floats Prospect of Joint Strikes on Colombian Armed Groups
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth floated on Wednesday the possibility of joint strikes on Colombian armed groups, as he welcomed the nation into a military-led counter-narcotics coalition after its conservative president took over last week. Colombia had authorized "joint military operations to destroy terrorists and terror networks," Hegseth told a gathering of the US-led Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition in Panama.
Colombia joins a US-led alliance against drug trafficking. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wants to use force against drug cartels.
Hegseth Pledges Full U.S. Support for Americas Counter Cartel Coalition in Panama
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to Panama on August 12 to address members of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, affirming the United States’ commitment to dismantling transnational drug cartels across the Western Hemisphere. The coalition, sometimes called Shield of the Americas, was launched in March by President Donald J. Trump. It operates as a U.S.-led multinational security and political alliance aimed at combating transnational …
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