U.S. Southern Command chief visits Colombia to boost joint fight against Pacific drug routes

U.S. Southern Command commander Francis L. Donovan spent two days in Colombia, underscoring a deepening security partnership after President Abelardo de la Espriella joined the Shield of the Americas coalition. He met Defense Minister Jorge Mora and inspected the Pacific port city of Tumaco, where officials discussed installing radars to track narco-boats and semi-submersibles used for cocaine export. In Ecuador’s border town San Lorenzo, Donovan joined a trilateral meeting with Ecuadorian Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo, where the three nations considered a joint military base to curb trafficking along the southwest Colombia-northwest Ecuador corridor.

The trip also addressed the need to refurbish Colombia’s aerial fleet, noting many aircraft are non-operational, and highlighted a recent joint air-force operation that intercepted 4.5 tons of cocaine and captured eight suspects. U.S. officials framed the cooperation as part of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition’s strategy to combat narcoterrorism across the region.