Thousands Of Additional Troops To Be Sent To Mexican Border, Shanahan Says

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says that "several thousand" additional active-duty troops are likely to be sent to the border with Mexico, reports Breaking Defense.

The mission has been extended to September and there will be an increase of a few thousand troops, Shanahan said during a press conference on Tuesday.

More clarity on the numbers will be provided when it becomes available, he said.

The move is in response to a request from the Dept. of Homeland Security related to placing concertina wire, said Shanahan.

There are currently 2,300 active troops at the border, down from 5,900 at the end of 2018, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, as reported by the Voice of America News.

The secretary declined to comment on recent reports that Washington was planning to send troops to Colombia in response to the Venezuelan refugee crisis. 

Rumors surfaced on Monday after National Security Adviser John Bolton displayed a notepad with text reading “Afghanistan - Welcome the Talks” and “5,000 troops to Colombia.”