US and partners work together to stem the flow of drugs in the Caribbean

The United States Coast Guard has had a busy summer conducting drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean with its partners in the Bahamas, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) and the U.S. Coast Guard worked together to disrupt a drug smuggling operation in the Bahamas in August 2024. The seizure of a ship near Long Island was another example of how closely the Defense Forces work together to combat illegal drugs and drugs bring success. Shortly thereafter, a U.S. Coast Guard tactical law enforcement team, along with British naval forces, seized more than 500 kilograms of cocaine in an independent raid in international waters in the Caribbean Sea.

In the first incident, the RBDF's Operations Control Center received a tip that a boat was heading towards Inagua Island. According to an RBDF press release, both the RBDF and the U.S. Coast Guard identified and tracked the vessel near Acklins Island and moved northwest toward Long Island. The HMBS Nassau was dispatched to intercept the boat, which was tracked to a bay near Little Harbor on Long Island. Local police responded by sending vehicles to the suspected landing point. Meanwhile, the Nassau, together with the HMBS Rolly Gray, located the boat, which was boarded and searched. According to an RBDF Facebook post on August 18, 2024, the crew fled and local police continued to search for them. The Nassau then towed the ship to Clarence Town, where it was searched more thoroughly.

Assisting partner governments in stemming the flow of illicit drugs in the Caribbean is an important part of the U.S. Coast Guard's mission. In June 2024, the USCG Cutter Resolute discharged 2,177 kilograms of cocaine at Port Everglades, Florida, which it had seized during two interdictions along with a Dutch Navy vessel near Venezuela. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Agency form the U.S. component of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), a 42-year-old partnership with the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands that controls drug smuggling through the region, much of which is controlled was deterred north into the United States.

Recently, the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier discharged 506 kilograms of cocaine in San Juan, Puerto Rico following an interdiction in August 2024. A Coast Guard tactical law enforcement unit stationed aboard a British Royal Navy ship seized the drugs in international waters. “Another success within 24 hours [HMS] Trent's return to combat human trafficking continues to demonstrate the utility of this class of ship in supporting such activities. It depends on the involvement of every member of my team and they can be proud of another significant transport,” said British Commander Tim Langford, Commanding Officer of HMS Trent. “These interdictions also depend on the close working relationship between the U.S. Coast Guard and my team, supported ashore by Joint Interagency Task Force South.”

Joint Interagency Task Force South, based in Key West, Florida, detects and monitors drug smuggling by air and sea and helps coordinate anti-drug trafficking efforts with partners in the region.