The film was originally titled Stranglehold before being renamed Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection.

Chuck Norris said he spent three years researching drug kingpins to prepare for the movie, which influenced how vicious the villain was portrayed.

Jean-Claude Van Damme was offered a role in the film but turned it down to instead star in Cyborg.

Billy Drago, cast as the villain Ramón Cota, said the character was loosely based on real-life drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Although set in South America, most scenes in the fictional country of San Carlos and rural Colombia were actually filmed in Tagaytay, Philippines, which explains the visible Taal Volcano in some shots.

Much of the film was shot at an unfinished hilltop mansion called the People's Park in the Sky, originally built by Imelda Marcos in 1983 as a guest house for a planned (but never realized) visit by President Ronald Reagan; the production spent $1 million refurbishing it, added a swimming pool, and then blew it up for the film.

The opening Brazilian Carnival parade scene was filmed outside the Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila, standing in for Rio de Janeiro.

On May 16, 1989, a helicopter being used for filming crashed into a 40-foot ravine, killing four crew members (two electricians, a cameraman, and the pilot); actor Geoff Brewer also died days later, and around 10 others including actor John P. Ryan were hospitalized. Production shut down for six weeks and later moved from the Philippines to Tennessee to finish filming, and the film was dedicated to the memory of the crew killed.

This was the second Chuck Norris film to suffer a fatal helicopter accident in the Philippines, following a similar crash during Braddock: Missing in Action III that killed four extras.

The film holds an 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 9 critics.

Delta Force 2 grossed $1.85 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., placing 11th at the box office.

The families of the men killed in the helicopter crash later sued Cannon Films.