RIO DE JANEIRO (Xinhua) -- 
Washington’s recent expansion of ground military operations in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and other Latin American countries represents an “escalation of imperialism” in the region, a Brazilian political observer has warned. 
Noting that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the expansion earlier this month during his visit to Panama, Jose Luiz Niemeyer, an international relations professor at Brazil’s Ibmec university, said the move marks a qualitative leap in Washington’s interventionist policy, extending to ground operations the same approach it has used to strike boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.
“It is an extremely concerning move and, unfortunately, is in keeping with the U.S. historical approach to our region,” Niemeyer said in an interview with Xinhua.
The United States is using the fight against drug trafficking not only to justify expanding its military presence, but also to impose “its security agenda without any regard for the sovereignty of Latin American countries,” he said.
“The attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific were already a unilateral action with serious human rights violations, resulting in more than 200 deaths and little presented evidence. Now, by applying that same logic to ground operations in countries like Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala, the United States is creating a highly dangerous precedent for direct interventions in our territory,” he said.
Niemeyer questioned Washington’s narrative about striking agreements with allied countries, saying they ignore popular will and national laws.