WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- MQ-9 Reaper drones assigned to AFRICOM are being redirected to Southern Command for anticipated operations against drug cartels.
- The number of drones leaving Africa and the effect on AFRICOM operations remain unclear.
- U.S. forces and regional partners are expanding operations through the Shield of the Americas coalition.
- The State Department is redirecting $52 million in military assistance to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama.
- Boat strikes conducted since September 2025 have killed more than 200 people.
The U.S. military is redirecting MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Latin America as American operations expand across the region, CNN reported Friday.
The aircraft are assigned to U.S. Africa Command and are expected to transfer to Southern Command.
CNN cited multiple sources who said the drones were being moved to South America ahead of anticipated operations against drug cartels.
The transfer represents the latest buildup of American military power in Latin America.
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The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against suspected drug boats for more than a year.
Operations in and around South America escalated this summer as regional governments joined Washington’s Shield of the Americas coalition.
It remains unclear how many MQ-9 Reapers will leave AFRICOM’s area of responsibility.
The potential effect on American operations in Africa also has not been disclosed.
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AFRICOM regularly uses drones and other aircraft to conduct airstrikes against militants in Somalia.
Image Credit: DoW
Its most recent reported strike occurred Sept. 17, when the command said it targeted a weapons storage space used by al-Shabaab.
Several MQ-9 drones also flew over Nigeria earlier this year in support of U.S. operations around the Lake Chad Basin.
The U.S. began withdrawing combat forces from Nigeria this summer after operations against Islamic State militants concluded.
AFRICOM referred questions about the drone redeployment to the Pentagon. The Pentagon declined to comment, leaving the number of aircraft and the timing of their transfer unconfirmed.
The Reaper movement comes as the United States increases military activity in Latin America under the Shield of the Americas agreement.
The arrangement is also known as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.
Image Credit: DoW
Under the agreement, U.S. forces and regional partners are targeting narcotics traffickers, with particular attention on cartels designated by the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The campaign has brought American forces into direct operations alongside participating countries.
Ecuadorian officials confirmed last month that U.S. Green Berets were conducting joint operations against cartels inside Ecuador. Two U.S. warships and deployed Marines also arrived in the country.
Since then, Marines assigned to Littoral Combat Force-24 have interdicted, boarded and sunk multiple vessels allegedly operating as floating refueling stations. The United States is seeking to expand those operations further across the region.
Senior American military and diplomatic leaders visited Colombia and Peru in recent weeks.
Image Credit: DoW
Peru most recently announced that it would join the coalition, adding another regional government to the counter cartel effort.
The aircraft transfer coincides with a separate shift in U.S. foreign military financing toward partner nations in Latin America.
On Tuesday, the State Department notified Congress that it was redirecting $52 million originally intended for military assistance to Iraq, Slovakia, North Macedonia and Tunisia.
That funding will instead go to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama. All four countries participate in the counter cartel agreement.
The State Department said the money will help “combat narcoterrorism in our backyard and help continue to secure the Panama Canal.”
The funding change places additional American resources behind governments participating in the expanding regional campaign.
The Air Force deployed MQ-9 Reapers to Puerto Rico last year as part of the broader buildup of American forces in the Caribbean for Operation Southern Spear. That mission was conducted by a task force bearing the same name.
Image Credit: DoW
Operation Southern Spear largely focused on strikes against small boats that SOUTHCOM said were transporting drugs. Many military elements sent to the Caribbean later participated in Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela this January.
The current counter drug mission is being conducted by Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere.
Unlike the earlier Caribbean centered activity, this operation has focused on the eastern Pacific.
Boat strikes conducted since September 2025 have killed more than 200 people. With Reapers now shifting from AFRICOM toward Southern Command, the military buildup supporting operations against suspected narcotics networks continues to expand across Latin America.
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