By Wilder Alejandro Sánchez

Written by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, The Southern Tide addresses maritime security issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It discusses the challenges regional navies face including limited defense budgets, inter-state tensions, and transnational crimes. It also examines how these challenges influence current and future defense strategies, platform acquisitions, and relations with global powers.

In late March, the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) and the Guyanese patrol vessel Shahoud carried out joint exercises in Guyana’s exclusive economic zone and international waters. Washington has many allies and partners across the Greater Caribbean, particularly among the region’s English-speaking nations. Despite having limited budgets and assets, the defense forces of the English-speaking Caribbean are training and increasing their capabilities to carry out missions, which aligns with US diplomatic and military objectives.

Ongoing Dialogue

The good news is that high-level interactions between the U.S. military and Caribbean militaries continue. U.S. Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, the Commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), traveled to Trinidad and Tobago last December to participate in the Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) 2024.

In early January, U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Nathan Moore, Commander of the Atlantic Area, visited Barbados and met with Barbados Defence Force Chief of Staff Brigadier Carlos Lovell. The two senior officers discussed further cooperation on common threats, including transnational organized crime and illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing. Subject Matter Experts from the U.S. military traveled to Jamaica in March and visited the Jamaica Defence Force’s Joint Information and Operations Centre.

More recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname in late March. The tour was a chance to address Caribbean defense and security issues: during his stop in the Jamaican capital, Rubio also met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Stuart Young and discussed the bilateral security partnership and regional security issues.

Recent Acquisitions by Caribbean Forces

Improving Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) remains a priority for Caribbean governments and their defense forces. Hence, regional naval forces acquire new surface and aerial assets for these missions. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) has led the way over the past decade via the Sandy Bottom Project, which enabled the acquisition of a fleet of different Damen-made surface vessels, including patrol vessels. The RBDF has also acquired a fleet of drones. Similarly, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has acquired four offshore patrol vessels, also manufactured by Damen, for the JDF Coast Guard; the HMJS Norman Manley arrived in late 2023.

More recently, the Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) Coast Guard announced in late February the commissioning of a new speedboat for the fleet, hull number CG11-1 Swordfish. This acquisition demonstrates Saint John’s commitment to strengthening the ABDF and improving MDA. Suriname’s Navy is now operating the patrol vessel RSS Barracuda (P501), acquired through a lease-to-buy agreement with Damen Shipyard Group. The ship will have “a crucial role in the protection of the maritime area of ​​the country,” explained the Ministry of Defense. (Suriname’s official language is Dutch, not English, but I will mention it nonetheless).

Guyana deserves special attention. In late 2024, Guyana finally received the 115-foot Defiant patrol vessel GDFS Berbice, produced by the U.S. shipyard Metal Shark. Berbice is the new flagship of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard and will support maritime operations. Given that Guyana has a border dispute with neighboring Venezuela over Guyana’s Essequibo region and oil-rich waters, acquiring new platforms for the GDF is a priority. In fact, in early March, the Venezuelan patrol vessel ABV Guaiqueiri PO-11 entered Guyana’s exclusive economic zone and harassed oil assets operating there. In a statement, the Guyanese government explained that, “The Venezuelan naval vessel communicated threateningly via radio communication that FPSO PROSPERITY was operating in Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone before continuing in a Southwestern direction towards other FPSOs, to which it delivered the same message.” The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense justified the operation, arguing it took place in contested waters.

The U.S. military and coast guard presence in the Caribbean

The U.S. military, particularly SOUTHCOM, its maritime component U.S. Fourth Fleet, and even U.S. Northern Command (with The Bahamas within its area of responsibility) continue to engage Washington’s English-speaking allies throughout the Caribbean. Engagement is not limited to meetings but also bilateral and multinational military training. For example, SOUTHCOM sponsors the annual exercise Tradewinds, specifically designed for the Caribbean – Trinidad and Tobago hosted Tradewinds 2024. Bilateral training occurs when U.S. warships visit the Caribbean. Passing exercises (PASSEX) are fairly common, case in point, at the time of this writing, in late March, the Normandy and the Shahoud carried out joint exercises, including PASSEX, “in international waters and the Guyana Exclusive Economic Zone to exercise communications and interoperability, and practice joint maneuvers,” according to the U.S. embassy in Guyana.

SOUTHCOM remains focused on Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HADR) missions across the Caribbean – and the rest of Latin America. The U.S. hospital ship Comfort is often deployed. However, in recent years, the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10) has also traveled throughout the Caribbean to assist populations in need. HA/DR operations are already taking place this year.

The Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025, commenced on 24 February, during which U.S. military medical personnel will visit several Caribbean nations. While LAMAT 2025 does not involve vessels, the humanitarian exercise will provide invaluable medical services to the inhabitants of Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana. “All involved agree LAMAT’25 is a win-win scenario, benefiting both U.S. military personnel and partner nations. The mission enhances medical readiness and strengthens partnerships while improving healthcare infrastructure in underserved areas,” explained Air Forces Southern, the aerial component of SOUTHCOM.

The U.S. Navy deployed several assets over the past years throughout the Caribbean as regional countries were hit by deadly and destructive natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. (In previous commentaries for CIMSEC, this author suggested that SOUTHCOM deserves a permanently assigned hospital ship.)

As for security operations, U.S. Navy warships, particularly destroyers and littoral combat ships (LCSs), and U.S. Coast Guard cutters regularly patrol the Caribbean Sea to interdict illicit maritime activities, particularly drug trafficking via vessels and the infamous narco-submarines. Recent platforms deployed to the Command’s area of responsibility include the LCS St. Louis and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116). The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Valiant unloaded approximately 12,470 pounds (5,656 kilograms) of cocaine in early March at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, worth an estimated $141.4 million. The contraband was seized thanks to six interdictions in the Caribbean Sea.

Finally, the Caribbean Sea is ideal for testing emerging technologies. At the time of writing, Operation Southern Spear is underway as the U.S. Navy is testing Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs). The objective is to test new systems to develop the future U.S. Navy’s hybrid fleet as part of the service’s Project 33. 

Discussion and Analysis

Some Greater Caribbean countries have governments that clash with U.S. diplomatic aims, namely Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. However, the region has many historical and trustworthy U.S. allies and partners. In a recent interview, Belize Defence Force commander Brigadier General Azariel Loria discussed training exercises with SOUTHCOM, including Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) and the Louisiana National Guard via the State Partnership Program. “We are eager to continue joint training exercises focused on countering transnational threats, with the goal of incorporating tactical operations, humanitarian assistance missions, and specialized training on counterterrorism and disaster response,” he said. BG Loria added that the BDF “looks forward to more innovated ways to take our partnership to another level to improve coordination between our land, air, and maritime units.” In other words, the commanding officers of the English-speaking Caribbean defense forces see the U.S. armed forces (including the Coast Guard) as important allies and partners for training and operating together to combat crimes in air, land, and sea. This relationship must not be lost.

The issue of equipment availability and serviceability is an obvious problem within the region. The Caribbean Sea is a large body of water, and Caribbean countries are not one single unified island nation. Depending on the country, each nation can include countless islands, islets, cays and atolls, and a vast maritime territory. Hence, regional naval forces require a fleet of surface vessels and maritime patrol aircraft to properly monitor and command their maritime territory. Certainly, more vessels demand additional expenses like port infrastructure, fuel, ammo, and crew, among other financial considerations, meanwhile defense budgets across the Caribbean remain limited, hamstringing fleets across the Caribbean. However, the examples mentioned in this analysis- the Bahamas and Jamaica acquiring several ships and the more modest acquisitions of Guyana and Antigua & Barbuda- demonstrate civilian authorities’ commitment to assign more budgets for maritime procurement programs.

Unfortunately, the threats of illicit activities and challenges across the Caribbean will remain ever-present. The sea is the preferred corridor for drug trafficking, while IUU fishing and human and weapons smuggling are also constant challenges and threats. An ongoing concern is the crisis in Haiti, which is forcing Haitians to migrate, often via vessels. Moreover, piracy is making a comeback. Last year, there were reports that two Haitian criminal entities, 5 Seconds and Taliban gangs (no relation to the Afghan Taliban), captured the freighter Magalie at Port-au-Prince’s Varreux terminal district, stealing one-sixth of the cargo of rice and took the crewmembers hostage. The situation was resolved when the police stormed the ship. Even though the incident occurred while the ship was docked, the situation in Haiti has become so dire that it now affects maritime shipping.

For the Caribbean, cooperation is the correct answer. Given the threat environment in the Caribbean Sea and limited surface and aerial assets to patrol this vast body of water, strengthening military-to-military relations advances U.S. and Caribbean interests. A lack of sufficient patrol vessels operated by Caribbean coast guards does not mean a lack of willingness to combat maritime crimes. The U.S. government should provide more tools, including a bigger budget for SOUTHCOM. Armed with a bigger budget, SOUTHCOM can expand its low-cost/ high-impact engagements, benefiting all partners across the Caribbean region.

Wilder Alejandro Sánchez is an analyst who focuses on international defense, security, and geopolitical issues across the Western Hemisphere, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. He is the President of Second Floor Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, DC, and a non-resident Senior Associate at the Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies. Follow him on X/Twitter: @W_Alex_Sanchez.

Featured Image: CARIBBEAN SEA (Mar. 27, 2025) – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) conducts a passing exercise with Guyana Defence Force Defiant-class patrol ship GDSF Shahoud in the Caribbean Sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dylan M. Kinee/Released)

By Aaron Delano-Johnson and Myles McCarthy

Introduction 

Sporting the distinctive racing stripe worn by many of the globe’s coast guards, the world’s newest polar-capable research vessel left the protected waters of the Gerlache Strait behind as it prepared to cross the Southern Ocean after completing its maiden voyage to Antarctica earlier this year. This cutting-edge vessel was not from a NATO country, Russia, or China, but Colombia, as it set sail from its homeport of Cartagena joining the ranks of South American countries operating ice-capable vessels and research stations on the seventh continent. As the United States and its allies struggle to project surface presence in the high latitudes, the ARC Simon Bolivar (PO-151) joins Chilean icebreaker CNS Almirante Viel (AGB-46) as the second domestically built polar-capable vessel to be commissioned in South America in the last 12 months. If the United States is serious about building capacity to operate at-sea in the high latitudes, it is time to look south. 

The challenge of building high latitude maritime capacity 

The National Strategy for the Arctic Region calls to expand the “U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker fleet to support persistent presence in the U.S. Arctic and additional presence as needed in the European Arctic.” Likewise, United States Policy on the Antarctic Region also identifies the need to expand the United States polar icebreaker fleet to maintain an active and influential presence in the region to support United States interests across the Antarctic Treaty System. 

The struggles to meet either goal are well-documented with critiques of the U.S. Coast Guard’s current icebreaker fleet, Polar Security Cutter program, and the broader state of United States shipbuilding continually in the news. What is not addressed in this debate about icebreaker capacity at-sea is that once the United States polar icebreaker fleet is recapitalized through new construction, or commercially procured stop-gap options, who will operate and maintain these ships in the harshest of environments?

Partnerships with traditional Arctic allies are a natural fit to build knowledge, skills and abilities of high latitude operations, but with a dearth of opportunities onboard both United States and NATO vessels operating in the polar regions, where else should the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy turn to learn from those with these skills and platforms? Look south.

South America’s Efforts in Antarctica

Stories of the Arctic and Antarctic studied in the United States tend to focus on the achievements of polar explorers from Shackleton to Amundsen, Soviet nuclear icebreakers, the indigenous peoples of the Arctic or perhaps the U.S. Antarctic Program’s work at McMurdo Station. Few are aware of the high-latitude capacity possessed by nations across South America, the same countries who are the closest partners of the United States in countering transnational organized crime, operating in the joint naval domain, and addressing illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing at sea.

Amongst them are upwards of 30 research stations, to include year-round presence at 12, a variety of aircraft launching from Chile and Argentina to support operations on Antarctica, and numerous icebreakers or polar research vessels by their navies or respective maritime services.

In a flurry of activity over recent years, the domestic construction or commercial procurement across South America’s polar fleet includes: Argentina will double its heavy icebreaker fleet with the construction of a second Polar Class 4 vessel set for the late 2020s to sail alongside ARA Almirante Irízar (Q-5), the Peruvian Navy commissioned the BAP Carrasco (BOP-171) Polar Class 7 oceanographic and research vessel (2017), the Colombian General Maritime Directorate’s (DIMAR) ARC Simon Bolivar (PO-151) Lloyd’s Register Ice Class 1C FS (2023), the Chilean CNS Almirante Viel (AGB-46) Polar Class 5 was commissioned in July, while the Brazilian Navy awaits delivery of its next-generation, and domestically built icebreaker, dubbed the Antarctic Support Ship expected to be launched in 2025. Finally, Uruguay procured the R/V Mount Whitney, an ice-strengthened research vessel re-flagged in September as the Oyarvide (ROU-22), to reinvigorate support for scientific investigation and logistics for its Antarctic operations.

Polar expertise can also be found ashore. The School of Marine Sciences of the Argentine Navy hosts the International Maritime Organization (IMO) certified courses of Basic and Advance Navigation in Polar Waters while their Chilean Navy counterparts at the Maritime Training and Instruction Center offer a similar Basic and Advanced Polar Water Operations Course. Both courses are requirements for senior officers serving on their nations’ respective Polar Icebreakers, and each routinely welcomes international students, principally from Europe. 

While the United States’ ongoing attempt to recapitalize the ice breaking fleet languishes with delays, it is clear that United States Allies, partners, and adversaries continue, with greater frequency, to put ships into the ice.

Icy Operations: How U.S. Forces Are Engaging the Polar South

Collaborating with South American partners allows the United States to take advantage of a simple fact of geography: when summer precludes cold weather training in the Northern Hemisphere, opportunities abound south of the equator.

Who has looked south to expand opportunities for gaining proficiency in extreme conditions? The U.S. Army’s storied 10th Mountain Division, the 1st Marine Division, U.S. Special Operations Command South, and U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School have all attend the Chilean Mountain Warfare School while U.S. Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center instructors have trained alongside the Argentinian Marines in Ushuaia practicing cold weather tactics and exchanging experiences. Likewise, troops from the Argentinian Mountain Warfare School and Chilean Marines have trained with their U.S. Army counterparts at the Northern Warfare Training Center and the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. In addition to ongoing activities in Chile, recent key leader engagements with Argentina have advanced discussions on additional cold weather operations subject matter exchanges. 

The U.S. Coast Guard of course does have partnerships and conducts international engagements across the region from exercises to Security Cooperation. But for as much success as USCGC James’ had during its recent port visits along the east coast of South America as the ship conducted illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing operations in the South Atlantic, efforts by the U.S. to bolster polar cooperation in the region have been much more limited.

Most recently, while returning from their annual mission to re-supply McMurdo Station during the 2023 Antarctic season, USCGC Polar Star deviated from their normal trans-Pacific route to visit Punta Arenas and Valparaiso, Chile. These were the first visits to Chile by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in over seven years and the first to Punta Arenas since 1987, and though the ship enjoyed a warm reception by their Chilean hosts including bilateral engagements, no repeat visit to the continent was made during the ship’s 2024 deployment. 

How to Build High Latitude Bench Strength at Sea

What would polar partnerships in South America offer to the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy? To begin, the need for added bench strength of operators with high latitude experience is real. Currently the U.S. Coast Guard’s high latitude efforts focus on preparing the heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star and medium icebreaker USCGC Healy for annual missions to Antarctica and the U.S. Arctic respectively. Healy and Polar Star represent the only two platforms in the United States’ combined fleet capable of training ice pilots, the essential qualification for operating ships in ice. On average, each qualifies just four to five new ice pilots a year, and given the rate of attrition in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Cutterman community, this leaves a very small candidate pool from which to fill current command cadre needs. And projected forward, this trajectory will leave the service critically short of the crews necessary for the nation’s envisioned future icebreaking fleet of Polar Security Cutters.

Since 2018 the U.S Coast Guard has looked to the Afloat Ice Breaking Training Program to help fill these gaps. However, the program is imperfect, and proposals to expand it are stymied by a critical factor: in an average year the United States only has one ship breaking international ice at a time, limiting space for trainees. So why not look to the rapidly expanding South American polar fleet for assistance? Precedent already exists for personnel exchanges in the region. Currently, the U.S. Navy has Surface Warfare Officers participating in two year exchange programs in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, and Chile, with some calling to expand the program even wider. 

And personnel exchanges should work in both directions, as the U.S. Coast Guard can offer invitations to join icebreaking deployments to officers from South American countries in the same way these opportunities are currently extended to their NATO, Australian, and New Zealand counterparts. Similarly, the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet recently concluded Operation Nanook, a Canadian led multinational exercise that while focused on the Arctic and NATO partnerships would certainly offer many lessons learned to South American nations with Antarctic interests. Put another way, polar officers need to know more than just the mechanics of how to operate a ship in ice, they need to understand the interests, ideology, and capabilities of all partner nations in the rapidly evolving high-latitudes. 

Potential opportunities to build bench strength are not just limited to expanding the Icebreaking Training Program. Junior officers aboard Healy and Polar Star could take advantage of their ships’ lengthy annual maintenance periods to seek temporary duty opportunities either aboard a ship or even by attending the aforementioned polar navigation courses in Argentina or Chile.

Finally, it takes herculean efforts in logistics to keep the aging U.S. icebreakers on mission. Forging mission support partnerships is often an afterthought that operational commanders scramble to expedite in times of crises. Establishing strategic logistics relationships with partner maritime services that can facilitate spare parts deliveries, conduct at highly capable shipyards across South America, and streamlined agreements for diplomatic clearances should all be a priority for engagement in the region. 

Conclusion

Afloat operations in the polar regions are fraught with risk. The United States needs to come to the region with not just capable ships, but with strong international partnerships and well-trained crews. With an icebreaking fleet that has historically relied upon on-the-job training to qualify the next generation of polar explorers, the U.S. Coast Guard’s “red hull” community currently struggles to support that model due to a lack of assets and opportunities with traditional partners. But polar force projection is of growing national significance, and the United States needs to look at the White Continent with a wide aperture lens. Logistics, memorandums of understanding, alliances, and certainly world-class ships and crews will all be essential in achieving future high latitude goals.

Aaron Delano-Johnson is an active duty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. A ship captain and international affairs officer, he has served across Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Myles McCarthy is an active duty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and an Olmsted Foundation Scholar completing a master’s degree at La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. A ship captain, he hopes to return to sea upon completion of his studies.

The views expressed are the author’s alone and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or the U.S. government.

Featured Image: ARC ship “Simón Bolívar” conducts Antarctic operations. (Colombian Navy Photo)

By Wilder Alejandro Sánchez

Written by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, The Southern Tide addresses maritime security issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The column discusses regional navies’ challenges, including limited defense budgets, inter-state tensions, and transnational crimes. It also examines how these challenges influence current and future defense strategies, platform acquisitions, and relations with global powers.

“Whether [working] against COVID, transnational criminal organizations, the predatory actions of China, the malign influence of Russia, or natural disasters, there’s nothing we cannot overcome or achieve through an integrated response with our interagency allies and partners.” – General Laura J. Richardson, Commander, U.S. Southern Command

While the Caribbean Sea is currently not as dangerous as the Black Sea or the Red Sea, from combating drug trafficking and illegal fishing to humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations to a belligerent Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, Caribbean naval forces have many daily missions and priorities. The United States, via US Southern Command and the US Coast Guard, and the armed forces of France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom – which have overseas territories across the Caribbean – are all present across Caribbean waters and are critical partners of regional defense forces.

This commentary briefly summarizes the joint military Caribbean exercises scheduled for 2024 and other recent high-level meetings to understand the concrete actions regional armed forces are carrying out to tackle the region’s threats and challenges.

Exercises and Training…

Two major multinational military exercises will take place in the Caribbean. Later this year, the US-sponsored multinational military exercise Tradewinds 2024 will occur, with Barbados serving as the host. The Main Planning Conference (MPC) commenced in Bridgetown on January 29. “The main planning conference for Tradewinds 24 underscores our collective commitment to fostering regional security and stability,” said Maj. Angela Valcin, the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) lead planner for Tradewinds 2024. The following “pivotal juncture” in the Tradewinds planning process will be the final planning conference in March, explained the Command.

Also this year, France will organize the multinational Caribbean exercise Caraibes 2024, which will take place on June 1-6. The January 23-24 planning conference held at the Joint Staff of the Forces Armées aux Antilles had representatives of the armed forces from the United States, Canada, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Netherlands, as well as numerous other state partners and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The maneuvers are focused “on a scenario involving assistance to the population following a natural disaster affecting the French Caribbean islands.”

Caribbean navies, along with several partners, also train via exercise Event Horizon, a multinational, multi-agency event aimed at strengthening the capacity of Caribbean and Central American countries in areas like maritime law enforcement, aeronautical and maritime research, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). The 2024 version of the exercise included troops and assets from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Cayman Island Coast Guard, Turk and Caicos Islands Regiment, the Dominican Republic Navy, and the Belize Coast Guard, in addition to the Colombian Navy and Canadian Armed Forces.

Bilateral maneuvers also occur with regularity, including passing exercises (PASSEX). The French patrol vessel La Combattante trained with the Colombian Oceanic Patrol Vessel ARC Victoria as part of exercise Royal Tucan in January 2024. A Colombian aircraft of undisclosed model and ships assigned to the Colombian Coast Guard also participated in the Caribbean exercises. “Operation Toucan Royal is part of a strategy to combat drug trafficking by sea and its related crimes;” the two navies are engaged in “operational and naval training activities… to enhance the capabilities of the two institutions and improve interoperability,” explained the Colombian Navy. Royal Tucan 2024 was the second iteration of the exercise.

In other words, there is plenty of year-round training across Caribbean waters. The three major Caribbean-focused multinational maneuvers are Tradewinds, Caraibes, and Event Horizon, but there are several bilateral exercises, such as Royal Tucan. (While a land-based exercise, it is also worth mentioning exercise Red Stripe between the JDF and British Army, which took place in January 2024.)

….And Meetings

Finally, while summits between Caribbean presidents and prime ministers with their US and European peers do not occur often, there is robust communication between these militaries. Just this past January, the 4th United Kingdom and Caribbean Heads of Defence Conference took place in Guyana to discuss issues including regional security.

As for the US, Southern Command’s commander, US Army General Laura Richardson, participated in the Caribbean Nations Security Conference 2023, co-organized by Southern Command and the Jamaica Defence Force, last June 2023. A total of 16 nations from across the Caribbean, plus the United States, participated. More recently, the 2023 Caribbean-US High-Level Security Cooperation Dialogue took place last November. A dialogue statement announced how the participating governments pledged to cooperate on issues like maritime law enforcement and maritime security and defense. Specific topics addressed included commencing the implementation of the Caribbean Maritime Security Strategy “to advance sustainable and complementary defense and law enforcement cooperation, improve maritime operational capacity and security,” and also to “employ Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) technology to identify and disrupt illicit networks and more effectively detect illicit maritime activity throughout the Region.”

The examples above highlight constant communication, apart from training, between Caribbean defense forces and their partners.

Ships and More Ships

Apart from the importance of training and high-level meetings, several Caribbean defense forces are in the process of obtaining new vessels to modernize their fleets: the Guyana Defence Force is awaiting to receive a patrol vessel purchased from the US shipyard Metal Shark; the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has purchased four craft from Safe Boats International; and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) commissioned its new offshore patrol vessel, HMJS Norman Stanley, in November 2023. While acquisition programs are not as splendid as those of global naval powers or regional powers like Brazil, which is domestically manufacturing submarines and frigates, Caribbean militaries are slowly revamping their naval fleets. With that said, regional militaries require more (modern) ships at sea to properly patrol their vast territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.

The limited size of Caribbean fleets means that regional and extra-regional partners are critical partners. SOUTHCOM, via the US Fourth Fleet and the US Coast Guard, already carries out continuous operations across the Caribbean. (In previous analyses for CIMSEC, the author had proposed that SOUTHCOM should be permanently assigned a hospital ship and one, if not two, littoral combat ships.) Similarly, the three European states with Caribbean territories deploy assets to the region. The Netherlands, for example, has a rotating offshore patrol vessel in the Dutch Caribbean, in addition to the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. In January, the Dutch military’s General Atomic MQ9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles flew their final surveillance missions across the Dutch Caribbean before their new deployment in Romania. 

Analysis

While the Caribbean does not receive the attention it deserves in Washington, militaries and coast guards have been active across these waters in January 2024 alone, with several important maritime operations: the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard deployed a Metal Shark patrol vessel and a helo to intercept a small speedboat between Little Curacao and Curacao islands; aboard were packages totaling over 218 kilograms of cocaine. Similarly, The JDF Coast Guard intercepted a vessel transporting “2,600 pounds of ganja;” the operation represents “a major dent against the drug-for-guns trade between Jamaica and Haiti.” As the violence and instability in Haiti will not improve anytime soon, it is important for Caribbean navies and coast guards to have larger, and more modern, maritime and air assets to patrol their own waters to combat crimes related to Haiti.

Also in January, the US Coast Guard Cutter Resolute (WMEC 620) docked in Saint Petersburg, Florida, completing a 60-day mission. The Cutter unloaded “approximately $55 million worth of illicit narcotics” during its operations as part of Joint Interagency Task Force-South. The same month, the Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell (WPC-1105) “offloaded more than 2,450 pounds of cocaine with an assessed street value of approximately $32.2 million” in two separate missions. Drug trafficking continues to be rampant across the Caribbean waters. Hence, Navy and Coast Guard vessels voyaging the seas, not to mention maritime patrol aircraft and UAVs serving as a vital eye in the sky, are necessary to crack down on this never-ending crime. Vessels and supporting aircraft are essential to combat other maritime crimes, such as illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, piracy, or smuggling of weapons or human trafficking.

Moreover, HADR operations are vital during the annual hurricane season in the summer months. Past hurricanes like Irma in 2017, Dorian in 2019, and Eta and Iota in 2020 devastated Caribbean islands and Central America. As this article was being written, the international media reported that scientists are proposing hurricanes have a Category 6 (the current maximum is Category 5), given that climate change will increase their strength and destructiveness in the coming years. Cooperation and experience to work jointly will be critical when, inevitably, Category 6 hurricanes hit the Caribbean and militaries, including extra-regional partners, are deployed to the frontlines of HADR operations.

While inter-state conflict remains unlikely, the Maduro regime in Venezuela remains a security concern, certainly not for the United States, with threats to neighboring military-weaker Guyana especially concerning. The collusion between the Maduro regime and drug-trafficking cartels makes the regime even more of a regional and global concern. In late 2023, the British patrol vessel HMS Trent voyaged by Guyanese waters to support Georgetown against controversial and belligerent statements and actions by the Nicolas Maduro regime, including a December 2023 referendum.

This year is already shaping up to be full of capacity training and joint interoperability training for Caribbean naval forces, given exercises Tradewinds, Caraibes, and Event Horizon, not to mention several bilateral exercises. While the situation across the Caribbean is not as dire as the Black Sea or the Red Sea, its geographical proximity to the US, the plethora of regional allies, the ever-present drug trafficking (among other crimes), and upcoming natural disasters mean that Washington should provide relevant agencies and partners with more assets and resources.

Wilder Alejandro Sánchez is an analyst who focuses on international defense, security, and geopolitical issues across the Western Hemisphere, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. He is the President of Second Floor Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, DC, and a non-resident Senior Associate at the Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies. Follow him on X/Twitter: @W_Alex_Sanchez.

Featured Image: Belize Defense Force, Meixcan Marines, and US Marines conduct culminating exercises including vehicle takedown, search and seizure, arrest, riot control, and building raids May 19, 2022 at Belize Police Training Academy for Tradewinds 2022 (Belizian government photo by Spc. Emiliano Alcorta).