← Back to live map

Unconfirmed rumor / developing 🚨 Crime

The InSight Take: The Shield of the Americas Grows, But Does it Have a Strategy?

Colombia · Latin America + Caribbean region

detected 2026-08-20T03:30:25Z updated 2026-08-20T03:30:25Z

<p><a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/the-insight-take-the-shield-of-the-americas-grows-but-does-it-have-a-strategy/">The InSight Take: The Shield of the Americas Grows, But Does it Have a Strategy?</a></p>
<figure><img width="1024" height="576" src="https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?fit=1024%2C576&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?w=1920&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=300%2C169&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=1024%2C576&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=768%2C432&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=1536%2C864&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=1200%2C675&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=780%2C439&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=400%2C225&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?resize=706%2C397&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/6.png?fit=1024%2C576&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w" sizes="(max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw / 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw / 12)), 100vw" /></figure>
<p>Colombia just became the 19th member of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition—better known as Shield of the Americas—days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to Panama to declare its new motto: "We do bad things to bad people." On this week's InSight Take, Managing Editor Deborah Bonello and co-director Jeremy McDermott unpack what this fast-growing coalition actually commits its members to, five months after its founding and still without an approved operational plan. With lethal strikes on Caribbean and Pacific boats having killed over 200 people—and no evidence the US drug flow has slowed—they ask whether Shield of the Americas can actually disrupt organized crime.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/the-insight-take-the-shield-of-the-americas-grows-but-does-it-have-a-strategy/">The InSight Take: The Shield of the Americas Grows, But Does it Have a Strategy?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://insightcrime.org">InSight Crime</a>.</p>

Single-source report, not yet corroborated.

Share this event 𝕏 Post to X ↗
Original source: RSS · InSight Crime View original report ↗

Key facts

Category
🚨 Crime
Severity
Medium
Confidence
Low
Sources
1
Location
Approximate (country level)

On the map

20 other events within 300 km in the 30 days around this event. This report has no exact coordinates, so it is shown at country level (shaded area).

If you're in the area

Emergency numbers — Colombia

Official sources

Travelling or living abroad

Always confirm with local authorities — numbers and links can change.

Be prepared

📘 Personal security guide Coming soon
Partner space Reserved for a preparedness partner

More from Colombia