BRIDGETOWN — Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, joined defense leaders from 21 nations to discuss security challenges and regional cooperation during the 2022 Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC 22). The two-day conference, co-hosted by the Barbados Defence Force and SOUTHCOM, focused on ways to enhance security cooperation to deal with […]
Tag: U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
United States and Colombia Conduct Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise in Caribbean Sea
BOGATA — The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783) and the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Billings (LCS 15) conducted a bilateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training exercise in the Caribbean Sea with the Colombian navy, February 27-28. Minnesota and Billings were joined by Colombian navy submarine ARC Pijao (SSK 28), frigates ARC Independiente […]
SOUTHCOM Commander Makes Historic Visit to Jamaica
KINGSTON — U.S. Army General Laura Richardson, who made history as the first woman to lead United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited Jamaica on January 20-22 for three days of high-level meetings focused on the United States’ longstanding bilateral defense ties with Jamaica. Richardson attended the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Change-of-Command ceremony Friday night where […]
United States Donates Field Hospital and Utility Vehicles To Saint Lucia
CASTRIES — The United States donated a 40-bed field hospital and three utility vehicles to the government of Saint Lucia during a handover ceremony at the St. Lucia Fire Service Training Center in Vieux Fort yesterday. The donation of the field hospital and utility vehicles, valued at more than $650,000, will help respond to the ongoing […]
U.S. Navy Seizes $22M of Cocaine In The Caribbean
MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy seized what they suspect is cocaine worth an estimated $22 million during a recent interdiction in the Caribbean Sea. The littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee was involved in the January 7 confiscation, which totaled roughly 700 pounds, U.S. 4th Fleet announced in a statement. “It is a […]
Coast Guard Seizes $15 Million In Illegal Drugs In The Mona Passage
SAN JUAN — The U.S. Coast Guard said the crew of the cutter Joseph Tezanos offloaded nearly $15 million in seized cocaine and transferred custody of two male smugglers at Coast Guard Base San Juan, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel in the Mona Passage waters in the Caribbean Sea near Mona Island, Puerto […]
Combat Ship With Coast Guard Detachment Seizes $12 Million In Drugs In Caribbean
SANTO DOMINGO — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 402 seized an estimated $12 million in suspected drugs, May 1. While on routine patrol, Wichita’s embarked helicopter, assigned to the “Sea Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22, Detachment 8 located […]
United States And Jamaica Conduct Bilateral Maritime Exercise In Caribbean
KINGSTON — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) and Jamaica Defense Force Coast Guard patrol vessel HMJS George William Gordon conducted a bi-lateral maritime exercise in the Caribbean Sea, May 8. During the exercise, Sioux City deployed her 11-meter rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) and MH-60S Sea hawk attached to the “Sea […]
U.S. Department of Defense’s Southern Command Increases Outreach to Caribbean Coast Guards
TAMPA — The U.S. Department of Defense presented the U.S. Southern Command-based Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Technical Assistance Field Team (CBSI-TAFT) with the 2018 Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence in Maintenance Training, Advice, and Assistance of Foreign Security Forces Operational during a ceremony in Florida recently. TAFT’s technical expertise is one of various forms of security assistance […]