The United States Deputy Secretary of War for Security Affairs in the Americas, Joseph Humire, visited in recent hours the construction work underway to build in Medellin the so-called Pentagon, which will be the headquarters of the Shield of the Americas, the initiative against terrorism and drug trafficking led by President Doanld Trump.
Humire was accompanied by Colombia’s Minister of Defense, retired General Jorge Eduardo Mora Lopez, and the city’s mayor, Federico Gutierrez, who stated: “Medellin‘s security and the fight against organized crime require international cooperation and coordinated efforts with the United States.”
The nine-story structure is also known as the Citizen Control, Computing, Communication and Contact Center (C5i), and the office of the Shield of the Americas will be located inside it.
Combating Criminal Organizations from Cities
“Security is not something that can be improvised,” Mayor Gutierrez added. “Let criminals feel the full weight of the law. We will continue confronting them with the full capacity of the State.”
“The crime we are fighting is transnational. These organizations dedicated to drug trafficking, illegal exploitation and gold trafficking, among other activities that fuel the war, must be fought from the cities,” Gutierrez added.
The mayor of Medellin clarified that the commissioning of the physical infrastructure does not condition the start of joint operations, since coordination between Colombia and the United States, as well as 19 other countries on the continent, is already underway.
“This infrastructure will integrate cutting-edge technology, artificial intelligence, data analysis, cybersecurity systems and a pioneering vertiport for surveillance drones,” Minister Mora Lopez reported, for his part. “It will also coordinate the operations of the public security forces and international agencies within the framework of the Shield of the Americas strategy. The fight against transnational crime will have an operational center!”
In this way, the capital of Antioquia, once a benchmark for drug trafficking, is preparing to become one of the hemisphere’s strategic security coordination points. The aim of the C5i is to bring together technology, information and response capacity in one place to address emergencies and threats to security.
Consolidation of the Americas Coalition Against Cartels
The location of the Shield of the Americas headquarters in Medellin is intended to connect the capabilities of different institutions to respond to security situations that require coordination. The project envisions the presence of Colombian agencies and the eventual participation of U.S. agencies in critical operations.
One of the main announcements during the visit was the consolidation of the Americas Coalition Against Cartels, known as A3C. According to Mayor Gutierrez, this alliance will make it possible to strengthen operational coordination between U.S. agencies such as the FBI, DEA and HSI, the Colombian government and local administrations, with the aim of confronting criminal networks that operate beyond national borders.
In fact, at the construction site visited by Humire, Mora Lopez and Gutierrez, there were labels on the floor bearing the words FBI and DEA. However, the operational scope of the Shield of the Americas in Medellin, the entities that will participate on a permanent basis and the coordination mechanisms will need to be specified in official announcements.
The complex will have more than 18,000 square meters distributed across nine levels, with space for the Metropolitan Integrated Emergency and Security System (SIES-M), the Automatic Dispatch Center of the Metropolitan Police of the Aburra Valley, and rooms designated for crisis response and the analysis of risk situations.
Coordination Point for Dispersed Information
The project also includes video analytics tools to identify people and vehicle license plates, artificial intelligence, a data center, cybersecurity systems and a platform to integrate the management of the different entities. The aim is for information that may currently be dispersed to have a coordination point that makes it possible to react more quickly to crimes, emergencies and other situations affecting citizens.
One of the elements attracting the most attention will be located on the top floor: a vertiport designated for the drone system. These devices are envisioned as a support tool for surveillance activities and other security operations.
The center also seeks to connect the capabilities of the Mayor’s Office with those of the Police, the Army, the Attorney General’s Office and other agencies. In addition to responding to crime, it is expected to integrate citizen assistance lines related to social issues, mental health and the protection of women.
Construction is 36% complete and involves an investment of more than 205 billion pesos (US$65.4 million), according to information provided by the Mayor’s Office.
Mayor Gutierrez’s announced goal is for the center to begin operating in June 2027. By then, new security cameras are expected to be in place, along with the integration of different agencies responsible for security and emergency response.
In the image, from left to right: Minister of Defense Jorge Mora Lopez; U.S. Deputy Secretary of War for Security Affairs in the Americas, Joseph Humire; Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez; and Medellin Security Secretary Manuel Villa Mejia. Credit: