America's Growing Involvement In Central America's Drug Wars

Image: NPR

Marines vs. Zetas: U.S. Hunts Drug Cartels in Guatemala -- Danger Room

The war on drugs just got a whole lot more warlike. Two hundred U.S. Marines have entered Guatemala, on a mission to chase local operatives of the murderous Zeta drug cartel.

The Marines are now encamped after having deployed to Guatemala earlier this month, and have just “kicked off” their share of Operation Martillo, or Hammer. That operation began earlier in January, and is much larger than just the Marine contingent and involves the Navy, Coast Guard, and federal agents working with the Guatemalans to block drug shipment routes.

It’s a big shift for U.S. forces in the region. For years, the Pentagon has sent troops to Guatemala, but these missions have been pretty limited to exercising “soft power” — training local soldiers, building roads and schools. Operation Martillo is something quite different.

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More News On America's Growing Involvement In Central America's Drug Wars

200 US Marines join anti-drug effort in Guatemala -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
Over 150 US Marines Deployed to Guatemala to Combat Drug Traffickers -- Insight
U.S. increases drug monitoring in Guatemalan, Honduran waters: official -- Reuters
Marines spot traffickers from Guatemalan skies -- Marine Times
Drug Lab Found in Caribbean Region of Honduras -- Latin American Herald Tribune
United States donates $2.5 million to fight drug trafficking in Costa Rica -- Inside Costa Rica
Costa Rica Drug Trafficking Threatens Country's National Parks -- Huffington Post
'Criminal Insurgency' is a Growing Threat in Central America -- David C. Eckley, Mexidata.info