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Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug coalition

US Defence Secretary met Panama’s president and observed joint military exercises during the regional security summit

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Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug coalition

What this story says

  • US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth attended the A3C forum in Panama on 12 August 2026, where Colombia’s government authorised joint military operations with the US against drug trafficking.
  • The A3C coalition, formed under the Shield of the Americas framework, includes about 20 countries and serves as the operational arm of US Southern Command.
  • Hegseth met Panama’s president and observed joint military exercises, including Panamax 2026, focused on defending the Panama Canal.
  • Colombia’s participation follows the election of President Abelardo de la Espriella, who has pledged to strengthen anti-narcotics cooperation with the US.

Who covered it

Left 25%(5)Centre 40%(9)Right 35%(6)

Percentages are shares of the 20 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 8 of the 28 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

74/100

Craft

95/100

Hype

15/100

28 sources · methodology

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth travelled to Panama on 12 August 2026 to attend the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) forum. The coalition, formed under the Shield of the Americas framework, is led by the US and includes about 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It serves as the operational arm of US Southern Command.

Hegseth’s visit followed Colombia’s decision to join the coalition. Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, authorised joint military operations with the US against drug trafficking. Panama’s Minister of Public Security, Frank Ábrego, said the coalition must move from political discourse to unified action against criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, and arms smuggling.

During the visit, Hegseth met Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino and observed joint military exercises, including the Curso de Operaciones en la Selva and Panamax 2026. The latter is a multinational exercise focused on defending the Panama Canal. Hegseth also visited the Cristóbal Colón Naval Air Base.

What the reports disagree on

The reports differ on the name of the US department responsible for the visit. Infobae referred to it as the "Department of Guerra," while other outlets used "Department of Defense" or did not specify. The reports also vary in describing the coalition’s membership: Infobae listed 18 countries, while other outlets described it as including about 20.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned the 221 deaths reported by WOLA from Operation Lanza del Sur. The centre-rated digests also omitted this figure. None of the digests from the right or centre quoted Panama’s Minister of Public Security, Frank Ábrego, or described the coalition as part of the Trump administration’s hemispheric security policy, as Infobae did.

Coverage settled. We checked this 8 times and stopped on 18 Aug 2026, 07:15. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

5 rated outlets

  • The left-rated report from Infobae led on the US offensive against drug trafficking and the security of the Panama Canal. It quoted Panama’s Minister of Public Security, Frank Ábrego, who warned that criminal organisations combine drug trafficking with money laundering, human trafficking, and arms smuggling. The report also cited WOLA’s figure of 221 deaths resulting from Operation Lanza del Sur, which targeted over 60 vessels.
  • Infobae described the coalition as part of the Trump administration’s hemispheric security policy and noted Colombia’s participation under President Abelardo de la Espriella, who has pledged to strengthen anti-narcotics cooperation with the US. The report included details of Hegseth’s meetings with Panamanian and Colombian officials and his observation of joint military exercises.

Centre

9 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated outlets agree that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth attended the A3C forum in Panama on 12 August 2026 and announced Colombia’s entry into a US-led counter-narcotics coalition. All eight digests report the authorisation of joint US-Colombia military operations against drug trafficking.
  • Seven of the eight digests name the coalition as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition or Shield of the Americas. Six mention Hegseth’s statement that the coalition would target cartels with the phrase “We do bad things to bad people.” Five note this was Hegseth’s second visit to Panama in 2026. Four specify Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella authorised the operations.
  • None of the centre-rated digests include a Colombian government statement or quote a Colombian official. None report the size of the coalition, the number of nations involved, or the date Colombia formally joined. The Ritz Herald alone calls Hegseth “Secretary of War.”

Right

6 rated outlets

  • The right-rated digests led on Colombia’s inclusion in the coalition following the election of President Abelardo de la Espriella. The Straits Times and ussanews.com reported Hegseth’s welcome of Colombia into the coalition. BioBioChile focused on Hegseth’s visit to Panama to strengthen regional cooperation against drug trafficking, framing it as a priority for the Trump administration. The Epoch Times carried a live broadcast of Hegseth’s speech at the A3C conference.
  • None of the right-rated digests mentioned the number of deaths from Operation Lanza del Sur or the specific criminal activities described by Panama’s Minister of Public Security. They also did not quote Ábrego or describe the coalition as part of the Trump administration’s hemispheric security policy.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug…?
Of the 20 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 25% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 35% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 28. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug… left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 20 rated outlets on this story, 25% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 35% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug… biased?
Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug coalition is one event reported by 28 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Hegseth attends A3C forum in Panama as Colombia joins US-led drug…?
28 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the A3C coalition?
The Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) is a US-led military coalition of about 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It serves as the operational arm of US Southern Command and was formed under the Shield of the Americas framework to combat drug trafficking and organised crime.
Why did Colombia join the A3C coalition?
Colombia joined the A3C coalition after its new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, authorised joint military operations with the US against drug trafficking. De la Espriella has pledged to strengthen anti-narcotics cooperation with the Trump administration.
What did Pete Hegseth do during his visit to Panama?
During his visit to Panama on 12 August 2026, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth attended the A3C forum, met Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino, and observed joint military exercises, including Panamax 2026, which focuses on defending the Panama Canal.

Read it at the source

28 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

5

Centre

9
Show 1 more

Right

6

Not rated

8

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Hegseth in Panama as Colombia joins US drug coalition | MediaBias News