The United States is planning land attacks against drug traffickers in Latin America, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says, expanding efforts that began with airstrikes against suspected drug-running boats. Hegseth says the approach would aim to target drug trafficking organisations on land, following operations against vessels in international waters.
Hegseth frames the plan as part of an anti-drug coalition led by US President Donald Trump, involving 19 countries. He says forces would be deployed alongside allies with “operational capability” similar to earlier strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. He also mentions working with partners such as Ecuador and Colombia to bring operations to drug trafficking organisations “on land.”
Outlets report that the earlier bombing campaign launched last September killed at least 215 people, according to one account cited by AFP. That campaign faces criticism from legal experts and human rights organisations, who warn it could amount to extra-judicial killings. Hegseth rejects those concerns and says the United States will “close with and destroy” cartel networks wherever they threaten the US and partners. Mexico is not included in the coalition despite being home to major cartels.
