Army Reportedly Sends 600 Soldiers South to Train Against the Cartels

The Army is sending roughly 600 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division to Latin America to train alongside local forces, according to a New York Times report published Oct. 14 that relied on anonymous sources. The battalion, from Fort Drum in New York, has reportedly begun deploying, with Panama as its first stop.

The deployment is part of an expanding Pentagon campaign against drug traffickers. It also comes as Gen. Francis Donovan, who leads U.S. Southern Command, has said the United States plans to expand from boat strikes to land operations, according to Democracy Now and Fox. The context of that remark could not be confirmed.

No official statement was found in the research for this story. Breitbart reported that the government had not confirmed the deployment. A senior U.S. official, however, confirmed to Fox News that the troops are being forward-staged under Southern Command, which will decide where they ultimately go, and Fox said it confirmed the deployment. This story is based on those secondary accounts; the Times report was not reviewed directly.

Jungle Training First, Then Colombia and Honduras

According to accounts from Fox News and the Daily Caller, the soldiers will first report to a new jungle training facility in Panama. From there they are expected to train with local forces in Colombia and Honduras. No dates have been given for those later phases.

Fox described the mission as "training and joint exercises." Both Fox and the Daily Caller reported that the troops may also support U.S. special operations personnel who advise local militaries on raids against suspected traffickers. Breitbart went further, writing that the troops will eventually carry out raids; the Times and Fox accounts, as relayed in the reporting reviewed, say the troops train and may support special operations forces.

Several hundred more 10th Mountain soldiers will help staff a new Western Hemisphere command in Miami, an anonymous military official told the Times, according to the Daily Caller and Fox.

Southern Command was not saying much. Media relations officer Steven McLoud told the Daily Caller, "We do not disclose details or comment on U.S. personnel deployment or operational movements due to operational security concerns."

A Campaign That Keeps Getting Bigger

The deployment follows other moves. According to Democracy Now and the Daily Caller, the Pentagon recently shifted MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador, and U.S. personnel, including special forces, already operate in Ecuador. Breitbart reported that American troops joined Ecuadorian forces in September to take down a cell of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation, a detail the research found only in Breitbart.

Fox, citing the Times, reported that the campaign began more than a year ago and that U.S. forces have conducted dozens of strikes, with more than 235 people killed. A Fox headline also put the list of U.S.-designated foreign terrorist groups in Latin America at 21. Both figures come from excerpts of those reports. Breitbart tied the latest move to the "Shield of the Americas" initiative, which it described as a coalition of 19 countries.

Donovan has said the U.S. plans to expand from boat strikes to land operations, according to Democracy Now and Fox. Democracy Now described the deployment as supposedly aimed at tackling drug trafficking, a skeptical framing.

How Unusual Is 600?

The head of an unnamed research group that tracks deployments told Semafor he could not recall one "that ever came close to 600 except for contingencies like invasions or natural disasters."

Not every government in the hemisphere is on board. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejects U.S. troops on Mexican soil as a violation of her country's sovereignty, according to Breitbart.

What Comes Next

The first soldiers are expected to begin jungle training in Panama, with later training in Colombia and Honduras and the staffing of the Miami command to follow. The exact number of troops beyond the 600, and the dates, are unknown. Still to come are any official word from the Pentagon or Southern Command, reaction from Congress, and responses from the governments of Panama, Colombia, Honduras and Mexico.