Exclusive: US military moving drones to South America ahead of anticipated counternarcotics operations

Senior Airman Edgar Grimaldo/US Air Force

The US military is expected to send MQ-9 Reaper drones operating over Africa to the US command responsible for South America, six sources familiar with the planning told CNN, part of a wave of military equipment that has moved to the region as US officials trumpet military partnerships for anticipated counternarcotics and counterterror operations.

Last year, the US military moved a combination of MQ-9 drones, F-35 fighter jets, and at least one AC-130 gunship to the Caribbean as part of its campaign targeting alleged drug boats. But the latest shift comes as Trump administration officials have publicly outlined plans to escalate operations on land with partner nations in South America.

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It’s unclear how many of US Africa Command’s MQ-9s will be transferred to US Southern Command; one of the sources familiar said it was “most” of them. That source familiar and two others also indicated the transfer of the drones — used for collecting intelligence and carrying out precision strikes — comes ahead of anticipated counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations in the region, including potential operations in Ecuador. That country began conducting military operations with the US earlier this year against “designated terrorist organizations.”

Another of the sources said there are still discussions underway about whether to send some of the drones to the Middle East, as the US military has lost assets in its war against Iran, including MQ-9s.

The shift away from Africa comes despite ongoing concerns about terrorism on that continent. US military leaders have warned that groups like ISIS and al-Shabaab continue to flourish as the US’ presence has decreased in recent years. Nonetheless, there has remained a steady drumbeat of strikes and joint military operations targeting those groups.

While sources told CNN that the targeting of terror groups would continue, some also voiced concern that transferring assets like MQ-9 drones out of the command’s hands could make those operations more challenging.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth named defense of the US homeland and the western hemisphere as the Pentagon’s number one priority in the department’s official National Defense Strategy released in January. And with competing interests abroad — between the Pacific, the Middle East and Europe — the US military’s activity in Africa has long fallen near last in the list of military priorities.

The Pentagon declined to comment for this story.

CNN previously reported that the Trump administration produced a classified legal opinion last year that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The opinion, which was produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, argued that the president is allowed to authorize deadly force against a broad range of cartels because they pose an imminent threat to Americans. It also appeared to justify an open-ended war against a secret list of groups, giving the president power to designate drug traffickers as enemy combatants and have them summarily killed without legal review, according to legal experts.

During remarks at a joint conference in Panama in August, Hegseth praised Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica and Colombia for their partnerships with and invitations to the US to partake in joint military operations against “narco-terrorists” in their countries.

“Colombia has already requested the Department of War join Colombia in its fight against narco-terrorism, authorizing joint military operations to destroy terrorists and terror networks,” Hegseth said.

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Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a visit to region that the US was looking to usher in a “golden age” of the relationship with Colombia, saying the “natural state of things” is for the two to be “strong allies and partners.” CNN reported earlier this month that Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella reached an agreement with the US for three MQ-9A Reaper drones to be loaned for monitoring drug-trafficking corridors and carrying out potential precision strikes.

And on Thursday, the US Embassy in Panama announced more than $6 million worth of long-range drone systems — not MQ-9s — were delivered to Panama to give that country’s National Aeronaval Service “the capability to monitor remote borders, safeguard strategic maritime corridors, and dismantle illicit drug trafficking and human smuggling networks.”

The Defense Department has already spent months conducting strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 230 people .

Law enforcement officials and experts previously told CNN it’s unclear if the strikes have had any real, lasting impact on the region’s drug trade. One official said that a projected drop in the amount of seaborne cocaine seized could be explained by cartels finding new routes or ways to traffic in drugs. Another expert said that trafficking is typically not done through the kinds of boats that have been targeted, calling the strike campaign “performative.”

In recent weeks the US has largely undertaken a change of tactics, interdicting more than a half-dozen boats, removing their crews and transferring them to partner countries before sinking the boats.

Rubio said the change stemmed from the US conducting the operations in coordination with other countries.

“When you’re conducting a joint operation in territorial waters, you have to reach an understanding as to how those operations are going to occur,” Rubio said. “And every one of these countries have their own laws, they have their own systems that they have to comply with. Some can be more aggressive than others.”

However, the US has not abandoned strikes on crewed boats. The US military said it had killed three crew members during an attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean on September 9.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report

美国空军高级飞行员埃德加·格里马尔多

据 CNN 报道，六位知情人士透露，美国军方预计将向负责南美事务的美国司令部派遣在非洲上空作战的 MQ-9“死神”无人机。这是美国官员大力宣传为开展禁毒和反恐行动而与该地区建立军事伙伴关系之际，向该地区转移的一系列军事装备的一部分。

去年，美国军方将MQ-9无人机、F-35战斗机以及至少一架AC-130炮艇机部署到加勒比海地区，作为其打击涉嫌贩毒船只行动的一部分。但此次最新部署正值特朗普政府官员公开阐述计划，拟与南美伙伴国家加强陆地军事行动之际。

Gerardo Menoscal/法新社/盖蒂图片社

目前尚不清楚美国非洲司令部将有多少架MQ-9无人机移交给美国南方司令部；一位知情人士表示，移交数量“大部分”都将移交。这位知情人士以及另外两位人士还指出，此次无人机移交——这些无人机用于收集情报和执行精确打击——正值该地区即将开展禁毒和反恐行动之际，其中包括可能在厄瓜多尔开展的行动。厄瓜多尔已于今年早些时候开始与美国合作，打击“指定的恐怖组织”。

另一位消息人士称，目前仍在讨论是否向中东派遣部分无人机，因为美国军方在对伊朗的战争中损失了包括 MQ-9 在内的资产。

尽管人们持续担忧非洲大陆的恐怖主义问题，但美国却将重心从非洲转移。美国军方领导人警告称，随着近年来美国在非洲的军事存在减少，像“伊斯兰国”和“青年党”这样的组织仍在不断壮大。尽管如此，针对这些组织的空袭和联合军事行动仍然持续不断。

虽然有消息人士告诉 CNN，打击恐怖组织的行动将会继续，但也有人担心，将 MQ-9 无人机等资产从指挥部手中转移出去，可能会使这些行动更具挑战性。

丹尼尔·德卡特雷特/法新社/盖蒂图片社

国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯在1月份发布的国防部官方《国防战略》中，将保卫美国本土和西半球列为五角大楼的首要任务。由于美国在太平洋、中东和欧洲等海外地区存在利益冲突，其在非洲的军事活动长期以来在军事优先事项中几乎处于最后位置。

五角大楼拒绝就此事置评。

据多位知情人士透露，CNN此前报道称，特朗普政府去年出具了一份机密法律意见，为对一份秘密且范围广泛的贩毒集团和涉嫌毒品走私者名单进行致命打击提供了正当理由。

这份由司法部法律顾问办公室撰写的意见书认为，总统有权授权对一系列贩毒集团使用致命武力，因为这些集团对美国民众构成迫在眉睫的威胁。法律专家指出，该意见书似乎还为针对一份秘密名单上的组织发动无休止的战争提供了正当理由，赋予总统权力将毒贩指定为敌方战斗人员，并下令在未经法律审查的情况下将其处决。

在 8 月于巴拿马举行的联合会议上，赫格塞斯发表讲话，赞扬厄瓜多尔、洪都拉斯、危地马拉、牙买加和哥伦比亚与美国建立伙伴关系，并邀请美国参与在其境内打击“毒品恐怖分子”的联合军事行动。

“哥伦比亚已经请求美国战争部加入哥伦比亚打击毒品恐怖主义的行列，授权开展联合军事行动，摧毁恐怖分子和恐怖网络，”赫格塞斯说。

Dolores Ochoa/AFP/Getty Images

上周，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥在访问该地区期间表示，美国希望开启与哥伦比亚关系的“黄金时代”，并称两国成为“强大的盟友和伙伴”是“自然而然的”。美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）本月早些时候报道称，哥伦比亚总统阿韦拉多·德拉埃斯普里利亚与美国达成协议，美国将向哥伦比亚借出三架MQ-9A“死神”无人机，用于监控毒品走私通道并执行可能的精确打击行动。

周四，美国驻巴拿马大使馆宣布，价值超过 600 万美元的远程无人机系统（不是 MQ-9）已交付给巴拿马，以使该国国家航空海军“能够监控偏远边界、保护战略海上走廊以及瓦解非法毒品贩运和人口走私网络”。

国防部已经花费数月时间在加勒比海和东太平洋地区对涉嫌贩毒分子进行打击，造成至少 230 人死亡。

执法官员和专家此前告诉CNN，目前尚不清楚这些打击行动是否对该地区的毒品交易产生了任何真正持久的影响。一位官员表示，预计海上可卡因缴获量的下降可能是由于贩毒集团找到了新的路线或贩毒方式。另一位专家则表示，贩毒通常不会通过此次打击行动的目标船只进行，并称此次打击行动“只是作秀”。

最近几周，美国在很大程度上改变了策略，拦截了六艘以上的船只，将船员带走并转移到伙伴国家，然后击沉了这些船只。

鲁比奥表示，这一变化源于美国与其他国家协调开展行动。

鲁比奥说：“在领海内进行联合行动时，必须就行动的具体实施方式达成共识。而且，每个国家都有自己的法律和制度，都必须遵守。有些国家可能比其他国家更具侵略性。”

然而，美国并未放弃对载人船只的袭击。美军称，9月9日，他们在加勒比海袭击了一艘涉嫌贩毒的船只，造成三名船员死亡。

CNN记者娜塔莎·伯特兰对本报道亦有贡献。