The United States is dramatically expanding its military campaign against drug cartels across Latin America — and the fight is increasingly moving from the sea onto land.

According to new reporting from The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Southern Command is expanding the use of American troops, surveillance technology and sophisticated drones as the Trump administration pushes a more aggressive campaign against criminal organizations operating throughout the region.

The change represents a significant departure from the traditional U.S. role in Latin America’s drug wars.

For decades, Washington primarily supplied governments with intelligence, equipment, training and financial assistance.

Now, American military personnel are getting much closer to operations on the ground.

U.S. Troops Are Already Operating in Ecuador

Ecuador has become one of the clearest examples.

Earlier this month, approximately 50 U.S. military personnel joined more than 300 Ecuadorian police officers during raids targeting an alleged drug-trafficking network authorities say is connected to Mexico’s powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

More than 30 people were detained during those operations.

In another operation, Ecuadorian troops working with U.S. Southern Command killed a local gang leader and two of his security guards in Manabí province. Ecuadorian authorities said the gang leader had connections to CJNG.

The developments are significant because U.S. military personnel have historically remained on the sidelines during these types of domestic raids.

More American Drones Could Be Coming

The Pentagon is also shifting more of its military technology toward Latin America.

Most of the U.S. military’s MQ-9 Reaper drones currently assigned to operations in Africa are reportedly being redirected toward U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations across South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The drones can conduct long-duration surveillance missions and have also been used by the U.S. military for precision strikes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S.-assisted land strikes against cartel targets are now considered a possible option as the campaign expands.

Cartels Are Using Drones Too

The technology battle is going both ways.

Criminal organizations across Latin America are rapidly developing their own drone capabilities.

An American government assessment reported by The Washington Post warns that Mexican cartels are learning increasingly sophisticated drone tactics, including methods developed during the Russia-Ukraine war.

Colombia has become one of the biggest hotspots.

Conflict-monitoring organization ACLED has recorded around 670 incidents involving weaponized drones across Latin America since 2018 — with more than 72% occurring since the beginning of 2025. Colombia accounts for a large share of that recent activity.

Weaponized drones have also appeared in Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil and, more recently, Venezuela.

A New Phase in America’s War on Drugs?

The Trump administration has increasingly described major cartels and criminal organizations as national-security threats rather than simply law-enforcement problems.

Supporters of the strategy argue that governments facing heavily armed transnational organizations need greater military resources and international cooperation.

Critics and human-rights organizations have raised very different concerns, particularly around sovereignty, civilian casualties, international law and how much authority the U.S. military should have to conduct lethal operations against suspected traffickers.

Those debates are likely to become even more important if the Ecuador model spreads.

What began as intelligence sharing, training and drug interdiction is evolving into something considerably more direct.

The United States isn’t just helping Latin America fight the drug war anymore. American troops, drones and military capabilities are moving closer to the front lines.