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Pentagon sends hundreds of troops to Panama for training in drug-trafficking campaign

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 9 outlets across the spectrum.

10 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Two soldiers in camouflage climb a US Army Chinook helicopter on a tarmac
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The U.S. Army is sending hundreds of soldiers to Latin America, including troops from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, who are deploying to Panama for jungle training. Reports describe the deployments as part of an expanded campaign against drug traffickers, and U.S. military officials say the soldiers are expected to train regional forces and support military advisers. Reports give differing troop numbers, from nearly 200 to 600. Breitbart reports that some of the soldiers could later take part in raids against cartels, a point the other outlets do not describe.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Hundreds of U.S. Army soldiers are being sent to Latin America as the Pentagon expands its campaign against drug traffickers.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft2Center2Far Right5See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, CBS News
    Center
    Semafor, The Hill
    Far Right
    Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Western Journal, Breitbart News, The Daily Wire

  2. Troops from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, are deploying to Panama for jungle training.

    Reported byCenter2Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Semafor, The Hill
    Far Right
    Fox News, The Daily Wire

  3. U.S. military officials said the soldiers are expected to train regional forces and support military advisers.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Far Right
    Breitbart News, The Daily Wire

  4. Reports give differing troop numbers, from nearly 200 to 600 soldiers.

    Reported byCenter2Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Semafor, The Hill
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller, The Western Journal

  5. Breitbart reports that Mexico is among the countries still refusing to fully cooperate with the United States against cartels.

    One outletBreitbart News· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The number of soldiers being deployed.

    The Hill reports nearly 200 soldiers from Fort Drum, Semafor and the Daily Caller report 600, and the New York Times and CBS describe several hundred.

  • The purpose of the deployment.

    The New York Times, CBS and The Hill describe training with regional forces, while Breitbart says the soldiers are expected to train local troops and eventually carry out raids and operations against cartels.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three sides report that hundreds of Army troops are going to Latin America as the Pentagon expands its drug-trafficking campaign. Left outlets stress the history of U.S. intervention, center outlets the campaign and Hegseth, and right outlets the cartel fight and Trump.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left headlines state the deployment plainly, with CBS attributing it to a New York Times report; the NYT description adds the history of U.S. intervention in the region.

    U.S. Is Sending Hundreds of Troops to Latin America
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines put the expanding campaign against cartels first, and The Hill names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and calls it a war on drug cartels.

    Hegseth ramps up US troops in Panama as Pentagon expands Partisan shorthand“war on drug cartels”The phrase is the administration's own framing of the operation, and other outlets describe the same campaign as a campaign or fight against cartels.More neutral: campaign against drug cartelsDisagree with this highlight?
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    5 outlets

    Right headlines stress the number of troops and the fight against cartels; Daily Caller ties it to Trump, and Breitbart's description calls the cartels terrorist organizations.

    Pentagon Sends 600 Soldiers Into Latin America As Trump Turns Up Heat On Cartels
    The Daily CallerFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    bloody history

  • Center2

    war against drug cartelswar on drug cartels

  • Right2

    terrorist drug cartelshide behind claims of national sovereignty

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    bloody historyMore neutral: a history of U.S. military intervention in the region

    The word bloody adds a moral judgement about the past that the description does not need to state.

    …expanding its fight against drug traffickers, even as the plans recall a long and bloody history of U.S.

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    terrorist drug cartelsMore neutral: drug cartels

    Calling the cartels terrorist is a designation the other coverage here does not use; the other articles describe them as drug traffickers or drug-trafficking groups.

    …to train local troops and eventually carry out raids and operations targeting terrorist drug cartels.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    hide behind claims of national sovereigntyMore neutral: cites national sovereignty as its reason

    The phrase implies bad faith on Mexico's part, which the article does not support with evidence.

    Mexico continues to hide behind claims of national sovereignty and constantly demands evidence of wrongdoing when the targets are…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Partisan shorthand

    war against drug cartelsMore neutral: campaign against drug cartels

    The phrase is the administration's own framing of the operation, and other outlets describe the same campaign as a campaign or fight against cartels.

    military’s war against drug cartels in Latin America.

    Used byThe Hill (Center)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Partisan shorthand

    war on drug cartelsMore neutral: campaign against drug cartels

    The phrase is the administration's own framing of the operation, and other outlets describe the same campaign as a campaign or fight against cartels.

    Hegseth ramps up US troops in Panama as Pentagon expands war on drug cartels

    Used byThe Hill (Center)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • scale of the Pentagon's expansion
  • history of U.S. intervention in the region
  • training with Latin American forces

Leaves out

  • Mexico's cooperation against cartels
  • Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • CBS NewsLeft

    U.S. sending hundreds of troops to Latin America for training, New York Times reports

    The U.S. will send several hundred Army soldiers to train and conduct exercises with Latin American military forces, The New York Times reports. Officials said it is part of an effort to fight drug trafficking in the region. …

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)
  • The New York TimesLeft

    U.S. Is Sending Hundreds of Troops to Latin America

    The Pentagon is expanding its fight against drug traffickers, even as the plans recall a long and Sensational language“bloody history”The word bloody adds a moral judgement about the past that the description does not need to state.More neutral: a history of U.S. military intervention in the regionDisagree with this highlight? of U.S. intervention in the region.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • expansion of the campaign against cartels
  • Panama training site
  • named defense leadership

Leaves out

  • history of U.S. intervention in the region
  • Mexico's cooperation against cartels

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Hegseth ramps up US troops in Panama as Pentagon expands Partisan shorthand“war on drug cartels”The phrase is the administration's own framing of the operation, and other outlets describe the same campaign as a campaign or fight against cartels.More neutral: campaign against drug cartelsDisagree with this highlight?

    The Pentagon is sending more U.S. troops to Panama to participate in jungle warfare training as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expands the U.S. military’s Partisan shorthand“war against drug cartels”The phrase is the administration's own framing of the operation, and other outlets describe the same campaign as a campaign or fight against cartels.More neutral: campaign against drug cartelsDisagree with this highlight? in Latin America. Nearly 200 Army soldiers from Fort Drum, a U.S. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)
  • SemaforCenter

    US expands military campaign against drug cartels in Latin America

    The US is deploying 600 soldiers to a Panama training facility, The New York Times reported.

    Read at Semafor (opens in a new tab)

From the right

5 outlets

Leads with

  • 600 soldiers figure
  • Trump's pressure on cartels
  • cartels as terrorist organizations

Leaves out

  • history of U.S. intervention in the region

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 5 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The New York Times, Oct 14, 3:00 PM EDT

  • Center

    1 day 3 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 15, 6:31 PM EDT

  • Right

    10 hr 20 min later

    Its first report, Oct 15, 1:20 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The New York TimesLeftOct 14, 3:00 PM EDT
  2. Fox NewsFar RightOct 15, 1:20 AM EDT
  3. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 15, 11:02 AM EDT
  4. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 15, 2:06 PM EDT
  5. The Daily WireFar RightOct 15, 3:10 PM EDT
  6. CBS NewsLeftOct 15, 6:07 PM EDT
  7. SemaforCenterOct 15, 6:31 PM EDT
  8. The HillCenterOct 16, 6:00 AM EDT
  9. The Western JournalFar RightOct 17, 6:00 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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