US Southern Command Commander Francis L. Donovan Aarrived in Colombia
The commander of the U.S. Southern Command, General Francis L. Donovan, arrived in Colombia this Wednesday, August 26, to meet with the country’s new military leadership and discuss joint efforts aimed at combating narcoterrorism and strengthening the security alliance between the two countries.
The senior officer’s visit comes shortly after Colombia formally joined the American Coalition Against Cartels (A3C), an initiative also known as the Shield of the Americas. That entry was marked by statements from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, according to which Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella authorized joint operations with U.S. troops.
Colombia is “a longtime partner in the fight against cartels and a key regional leader in security,” Southern Command said in the social media post on X announcing Donovan’s arrival in the South American country.
Active agenda for Donovan in the region
Donovan arrived in Bogota and then traveled to Tumaco and the Tolemaida military base, in the department of Tolima, accompanied by the new military leadership that President De la Espriella has just confirmed.
Donovan’s presence in Colombia also comes after Southern Command released a suggestive video in which it states that it is “changing the rules of the game,” and that “whether by air, land or sea, U.S. forces are taking the fight to the enemy.”
The video is marked by the famous ticking sound of a countdown that characterized the first videos of the military operations in the Caribbean Sea, which ended with the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.
With Donovan in Colombia, the Donald Trump administration confirms its decision to strengthen security cooperation between the two countries.
The head of U.S. military forces in Latin America has had an active agenda in the region: last February he was in Venezuela, where he met with interim authorities to discuss issues such as security and the “stabilization” of the country following the capture and extraction of Maduro.
On May 29, he met with Cuban military commanders on the boundaries of the Guantanamo naval base, in western Cuba, in the midst of the U.S. pressure campaign against the Castro regime. At the beginning of August, he spent five days in Panama to strengthen regional security objectives, review the PANAMAX 2026 multinational training exercise and meet with senior commanders, including U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
A week ago, he carried out his third official visit to Ecuador in less than six months, and confirmed the growing interest that country has acquired within the regional strategy promoted by Washington to combat drug-trafficking cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
Donovan arrives as De la Espriella recognizes military leadership
He has now arrived in Colombia on the same day that President De la Espriella attended the recognition ceremony for the new military leadership, at the Jose Maria Cordova Military Cadet School in Bogota, where he delivered a speech that will also be heard in the United States.
The Colombian president reaffirmed what he promised during the campaign that took him to the Presidency: “Security will return to the entire national territory,” he said, accompanied by his new military leadership: the Minister of Defense, General (Ret.) Jorge Eduardo Mora Lopez; the deputy director of the National Police, Major General (Ret.) Norberto Mujica Jaime; the Army commander, Major General Erik Rodriguez Aparicio; the Navy commander, Vice Admiral Javier Alfonso Jaimes Pinilla; and the Air Force commander, Major General Juan Martinez Ossa.
“Under the previous regime [the government of former President Gustavo Petro], my compatriots felt firsthand the retreat of the State while terrorist organizations advanced shamelessly thanks to the complicity of that regime,” De la Espriella said. “This will be the Miracle Homeland of security and order. Colombia will once again have a present State. The farce of total peace is over forever.”
In that “mission of returning security to all Colombians,” De La Espriella hoped that the uniformed personnel would “restore security within the framework of the Constitution and the law. I demand discipline, honor, respect for the law. And results,” he stressed.