Overview
- On Wednesday in Panama, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia became the 19th member of the Americas Counter‑Cartel Coalition and that Bogotá has authorized joint military operations with U.S. forces against so‑called narco‑terrorists.
- The U.S. has been conducting Operation Southern Spear since September 2025, a maritime campaign that reporting credits with dozens of strikes on suspected smuggling vessels, roughly 66 attacks and more than 200 deaths, and Pentagon inspector general figures putting the cost near $820 million.
- Hegseth urged coalition partners to reject International Criminal Court jurisdiction, compared trafficking groups to IS and al‑Qaeda, and framed the effort under a renewed Monroe-style 'Donroe' doctrine to push a tougher security posture in the region.
- Washington said it plans a near‑term $1 billion security package for Colombia to support the new partnership and joint operations, reflecting rapid alignment between the Trump administration and President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government.
- Human‑rights groups and legal experts say the strikes have likely killed civilians and could violate international law, a dispute that raises the risk of international scrutiny even as the coalition expands; the Shield of the Americas was launched in March to coordinate military and law‑enforcement action across the hemisphere.