## Pentagon's Latin America Operations Cost at Least $4.7 Billion as War Department Refuses to Disclose Full Price to Congress
The U.S. military's covert operations across Latin America and the Caribbean have already consumed at least $4.7 billion in taxpayer funds, according to a comprehensive analysis by Brown University's Costs of War Project—figures the Department of War has declined to provide to Congress or the public.

The estimate covers two distinct military campaigns between August 2025 and March 2026: Operation Absolute Resolve, targeting Venezuela, and Operation Southern Spear, focused on interdictions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Researchers caution the $4.7 billion figure represents a floor, not a ceiling. The analysis encompasses air operations, naval deployments, Special Forces activities, troop movements, and munitions expenditure—the most detailed accounting yet available on U.S. military spending in the Western Hemisphere. The Pentagon's refusal to release its own cost figures has forced outside researchers to reconstruct the financial footprint of operations that remain largely classified.

The opacity surrounding these expenditures places Congress in a difficult position, unable to conduct meaningful oversight of military activities conducted without explicit war declarations. The Costs of War researchers note that their methodology, designed to be conservative, likely omits significant categories of spending—including intelligence operations, infrastructure investments, and long-term personnel costs. The combination of undisclosed operations and missing financial data has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers seeking to understand the strategic rationale and fiscal impact of Washington's expanding footprint in the region.
---
- **Source**: The Intercept
- **Sector**: The Network
- **Tags**: pentagon, latin_america, military_spending, venezuela, congress_oversight
- **Credibility**: unverified
- **Published**: 2026-04-23 14:54:06
- **ID**: 76433
- **URL**: https://whisperx.ai/en/intel/76433