DEA's Militarized Commando Teams Honed in Afghanistan, but Born in Latin America

The recent revelation that the Drug Enforcement Administration is operating several militarized commando squads in Latin America signals an apparent U.S. eagerness to begin using covert counternarcotics strategies honed in Afghanistan over the past decade in the Western Hemisphere.

The DEA’s so-called FAST team program -- Foreign-deployed Advisory Support Teams -- was reportedly created during the Bush administration to investigate Taliban-linked drug traffickers in Afghanistan. ...