Colombia's new president authorizes joint U.S. military operations against drug cartels

Announcement in Panama

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday, August 12, during a meeting of the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition (A3C) in Panama City, that Colombia's newly inaugurated president Abelardo de la Espriella has authorized joint military operations with the United States to combat what Washington calls "narco-terrorism." Hegseth and Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora signed documents welcoming Colombia as the 19th member of the coalition during a ceremony in Panama. The Trump administration refers to the Defense Department as the "Department of War," and Hegseth used that terminology throughout his remarks.

Through the newly inaugurated president, as our president likes to say, President El Tigre, Colombia has already requested that the Department of War join Colombia in its fight against narco-terrorism, authorizing joint military operations to destroy terrorists and terror networks.

Colombia joins the Shield of the Americas

The A3C is the main instrument of the "Shield of the Americas" initiative, promoted by the U.S. to coordinate actions against drug trafficking and organized crime across the hemisphere, including border security, dismantling criminal finances, and joint responses to shared regional threats. The initiative emerged from a March 2026 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Latin American countries. Colombia's then-president Gustavo Petro was not invited to that meeting. Countries that subscribed in March include Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Belize, Chile, Jamaica, and Peru. Hegseth also praised Ecuador as the first coalition member to partner with the U.S. in a joint operation.

A sharp break from the Petro era

De la Espriella was elected on June 21 in the second round of Colombia's presidential election, succeeding Gustavo Petro, the country's first left-wing president. The conservative lawyer, who positions himself as an anti-establishment outsider inspired by Trump and Javier Milei, was sworn in on Friday, August 7, at a military regiment. In his inauguration speech, he promised an "iron fist" approach, restoring "order" and "authority," and said the option of dialogue with armed groups was exhausted. He pledged to intensify bombings against guerrillas and drug traffickers with support from Israel and the United States, and to build mega-prisons similar to those in El Salvador. The State Department announced the same day that it plans to allocate $1 billion in security assistance to Colombia, a package welcomed by Colombian Vice President José Manuel Restrepo on August 8.

Earthquake compounds the new government's challenges

Three days after the inauguration, on Monday, August 10, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia, the worst to hit the country this century. The quake killed 239 people and injured at least 3,775, according to the newly appointed director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), David Tamayo. Colombia announced it would accept search and rescue teams from the United States, Ecuador, and Israel, with sources differing on whether El Salvador or Chile was also included. Bogotá denied refusing aid for ideological reasons.

Hegseth pushes withdrawal from the ICC

Separately at the Panama meeting, Hegseth urged the nearly 20 countries in attendance to abandon the International Criminal Court (ICC) and reject its attempts to strip their governments of sovereignty. The Trump administration is campaigning to dismantle the court in retaliation for arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. Hegseth argued that U.S. military strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the region "are entirely legal under international humanitarian law." He also attacked what he called "the international left" and its allied media for seeking to impose ICC jurisdiction on U.S. military operations. Participants at the forum included U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, SOUTHCOM commander General Francis L. Donovan, and Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who held a prior meeting with Hegseth.