The Controversial New Deployment of US Troops in Colombia

The decision to send US troops into Colombia to help against drug trafficking is a troubling one, whether as part of the two countries’ security strategy or connected to broader efforts against Venezuela.

On May 28, the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) issued a statement that its 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) would support “enhanced counter-narcotics cooperation” in Colombia with no limit set on its deployment.

The head of Colombia’s armed forces, Gen. Luis Fernando Navarro, later added some details about the anti-drug mission. According to El Tiempo, he stated the SFAB troops would be in Colombia for four months, providing “tactical” advice to “improve operations against drug trafficking.”

These troops will provide support in areas across Colombia high in coca production and drug trafficking, including Bajo Cauca, the south of Córdoba, Catatumbo, Arauca, the Pacific Coast of Nariño and the national parks of Chiribiquete, Sierra de La Macarena, Catatumbo Barí, Nudo de Paramillo and Sanquianga.

Opposition politicians were quick to warn that the move may be an unsubtle way to ramp up pressure on Venezuela.

On June 2, Colombia’s Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común – FARC) said on Twitter that the United States was not trying to “fight drug trafficking” but “coming to start a regional war.” The FARC political party was created after the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) in 2016.

https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/deployment-us-troops-colombia/

https://www.benning.army.mil/Tenant/1-SFAB/