By Juan Miguel Hernández Bonilla, EL PAÍS, October 27, 2028
(Translated by Eunice Gibson, CSN Volunteer Translator)
More than 300 United States soldiers are arriving in Colombia this Tuesday to carry out military training exercises against drug trafficking, as was confirmed by the U.S. Southern Command and the Colombian Ministry of Defense this Monday in two press releases. The training, called Vanguard of the South 2026, will take place at Colombia’s biggest military base, at Tolemaida in the Municipality of Nilo, Cundinamarca Department, a few hours from Bogotá. It will last until next November 11.
The soldiers’ arrival is part of President Donald Trump’s strategy of increasing the United States military presence in Latin American countries. He calls it the “Donroe Doctrine” in a play on the words of the contention by former President James Monroe that it was necessary for the United States to have a hegemonic presence on the continent (“America for Americans” was his slogan) and is Trump’s interventionist focus.
The deployment of troops to Colombia is taking place a month after the meeting between General Francis L. Donovan, Chief of the U.S. Southern Command and Minister of Defense Jorge Mora, and just one week after the arrival of the first contingent of a group of 600 soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division to a training in the Panamanian jungle. It’s expected that in the next few days there will also be joint trainings with the United States Military and the Army of Honduras.
President Abelardo De la Espriella has not made a statement, but the Defense Ministry announced the arrival and asserted that the training will “strengthen the interoperability between the Colombian National Army and the Army of the United States.” The objective, according to his press release, is to carry out combined exercises focused on the war on “drug trafficking, illegal mining, the challenges of unmanned aerial systems, and medical evacuations.” In November 2022, a similar training took place, but with 300 soldiers, both Colombian and U.S., less than half the number that arrived in Colombia this Tuesday. In 2024 there was a similar exercise in Brazil, and in 2025 in Chile, but Colombia did not take part.
(Defense Ministry press release omitted.)
The Southern Command has explained that this event is included “fully as part of the global strategy of military exercises of the Command Staff, which allows the Joint Force to train together with allies and partners.” The press release insists that the soldiers of both nations will be working “elbow to elbow” to share tactical knowledge, and thus build “lasting institutional confidence” that can respond to “the challenges of regional security.”
Along with the information also shared by the United States Embassy in Colombia, this training is designed to “counter regional threats, strengthen the partners’ capacity, and increase preparedness.” The message assures that the exercises will principally focus “on maritime interdiction, land security operations, cyberdefense, and interinstitutional cooperation.”
Specifically, the activity will begin on October 30 “with an aeromedical evacuation from the Military Fort in Tolemaida to the Cavalry School installations in the City of Bogotá.” The objective, according to the Defense Ministry, will be to “verify the first response and medical procedures employed by the medical personnel in both Armies for aiding a person that has been injured in a mined area.” To carry out the simulation, they will use planes and specialized medical teams. During the training, the Anti-Narcotraffic Battalion No. 1 of the Colombian Army will exchange “military tactics, techniques, and procedures” with the soldiers of the Light Infantry Mountain Battalion of the United States Army.
The arrival of North American troops in Colombia is reviving a legal and political debate about the necessity for Congress to authorize these operations in advance. The opposition party, Historic Pact, the party of former President Gustavo Petro, insists that the requirement established in the Constitution that “the transit of foreign troops” through Colombia be authorized by the Congress must be applied in this instance. The administration argues that these are just training missions that don’t require such an authorization and that these have been carried out for decades without it. A Council of State decision based on similar training in 2020 held that the temporary presence of foreign military to aid, train, or build capacity without participating in operations, without exercising authority or carrying weapons, is not the same as a “transit of troops”; thus, it needs no authorization by Congress.
Nevertheless, the criticisms go beyond that and include the legal immunity that those members of the military might obtain through prior bilateral agreements. The opposition Senator Alejandra Omaña of the Historic Pact Party this Monday recalled a scandal that took place in 2007 when several members of the North American military were charged with having raped a 12-year-old girl in the outskirts of Tolemaida. The administration has not responded to those criticisms.
The mission, in any case, has been welcomed by the right. National Salvation Party Senator German Rodríguez, celebrated the arrival of the U. S. troops. “Excellent news for Colombia’s security. The cooperation between our Army and the United States Armed Forces strengthens the capacity to combat terrorism and confront the criminal organizations that threaten this country. With the arrival of 300 United States military at Tolemaida, strategic cooperation is being reinforced.”
As of now, the administration has not introduced any proposal to the Congress relating to activities that may or may not require its permission. The Council of State itself reported that in the first month of the current administration, it has not received anything related to the entrance or participation of foreign troops.