SOUTHCOM's Donovan opens two-day Colombia tour, weighs aircraft rehab and joint tactical agenda

Gen. Francis Donovan landed in Bogotá on 26 August 2026 for a two-day visit — the first senior SOUTHCOM visit under President Abelardo de la Espriella's administration — touring the Pacific port of Tumaco (Nariño department, a major coca-cultivation and semi-submersible/fast-boat departure zone) and the Tolemaida military base, the Colombian army's main aviation and training hub. Technical discussions covered intelligence-sharing, reconnaissance and special-operations coordination; no formal written agreement was released. Follow-up reporting in the days after described the visit as formalizing a 'joint tactical agenda' between Donovan and De la Espriella, including rehabilitating Colombia's grounded aircraft fleet — 11 of the army's 19 Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters were left non-operational by the change of government. The visit followed Washington's 7 August announcement of the $1B 'Plan Colombia 2.0' package, even as Colombia remained on the State Department's list of countries judged to have 'failed demonstrably' on drug control under a September 2025 determination.