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The US military is deploying several hundred troops to Latin America for joint training and exercises with regional forces, as the Trump administration expands its campaign against drug trafficking networks, Fox News has confirmed.
The deployment involves soldiers from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y., and the first troops from a battalion of about 600 soldiers are expected to deploy to Panama, according to the New York Times, which first reported the deployment.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the troops are being advanced under U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which will determine where they will ultimately be deployed.
According to the Times, the troops will first deploy to a new jungle training center in Panama before training with local forces in Colombia and Honduras.
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Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan of the United States Marine Corps testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 15, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
The troops could also support U.S. special operations personnel who advise local military personnel to conduct raids against suspected drug traffickers, the outlet reported.
Separately, several hundred soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are expected to help staff a new Western Hemisphere military command based in Miami.
The deployment comes as the Pentagon continues its military operations targeting suspected drug traffickers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Since the campaign began more than a year ago, US forces have carried out dozens of strikes, killing more than 235 people.
Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of SOUTHCOM, previously said the military was considering operations against trafficking networks on land.
“Do I view ground strikes as options? Yes. We want all options to be on the table,” Donovan said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“These actions could take the form of strikes, arrests or the destruction of a shelter,” he continued. “It could even be something as common as increasing the use of cargo scanners at border checkpoints.”
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveils Operation Southern Spear aimed at dismantling narcoterrorist networks across Latin America. (Jeon Heon-Kyun – Piscine/Getty Images)
Donovan added that the goal was to create “total systemic friction” for the cartels.
The Trump administration has reached agreements with allied countries that could allow it to expand its military operations against trafficking networks on land in several Latin American countries.
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth previously said during a visit to Panama in August that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the United States to conduct joint military operations against criminal groups within their borders, although Guatemala denied entering into such an agreement.
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