The Pentagon has deployed hundreds of troops to Latin America to combat drug trafficking.

The Pentagon has deployed hundreds of troops to Latin America to combat drug trafficking. The New York Times reports this shift, citing sources within the department.

Six hundred American infantrymen are currently en route to Panama. They will train in the jungle while working alongside local forces in Colombia and Honduras. These soldiers could also be integrated into special operations units tasked with tracking down suspected drug dealers. While the move appears temporary at first glance, it could potentially become a permanent fixture of Washington's military presence in the region.

Hundreds more soldiers from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division are traveling to Miami to establish new command centers for missions in the Western Hemisphere.

On October 5th, American forces struck a speedboat linked to drug smuggling in Caribbean waters. Previous reports indicated that past U.S. efforts to halt the flow of narcotics across the Caribbean had failed to yield significant results.