After a year of lethal boat strikes killed hundreds of people off Latin America’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts, the Trump administration is now seeking to extend its anti-cartel campaign to land operations in allied nations across the region.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week during a visit to Panama that Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras had agreed to allow the US to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups on their soil. Ecuador launched similar joint missions with Washington in March. However, Guatemala has denied reaching any such agreement, calling into question the scope of the deals.
The expansion marks a new phase in Washington’s most interventionist approach to Latin America in decades. The Trump administration has framed the campaign as asserting “American dominance over the Western Hemisphere,” according to a State Department social media post.
Scale of the Boat Campaign
The US military began bombing boats it accused of ferrying drugs off Latin American coasts shortly after Trump returned to office in January 2025. Hundreds have been killed in the strikes, though critics say many victims were low-level fishermen rather than cartel operatives. Human rights organizations have raised concerns about the lack of transparency around targeting decisions and casualty counts.
The decision to move to land operations has alarmed analysts and regional security experts. “The US bombs an ELN camp in Colombia or in Venezuela, what is the first thing the ELN are going to do? They are going to dismantle all their camps and move into the villages and towns,” one regional security analyst warned.
Sovereignty Concerns
Ecuador’s experience offers a cautionary tale. Voters there overwhelmingly rejected foreign military bases in a November 2025 referendum, yet the government proceeded with joint US operations anyway, highlighting the tension between democratic mandates and security cooperation. Analysts note that the deals effectively require participating governments to cede portions of their sovereignty in exchange for counter-narcotics support.
The campaign has drawn bipartisan support in Washington, where both parties have long sought to pressure Latin American governments to align with US security priorities. But the escalation raises fundamental questions about the legal basis for US military operations on foreign soil and whether bilateral agreements can override domestic opposition.
Sources: Associated Press; Washington Post; NBC News; US State Department
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