Last month marked the 40th iteration of Operation Tradewinds, a multinational security exercise hosted by U.S. Southern Command in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
Operation Tradewinds brought together 100 personnel from 26 nations, six regional organizations, and multiple U.S. agencies. The goal of the operation: to advance multinational efforts to safeguard international law and maintain a free and open maritime environment.
Operation Tradewinds 2025 gave U.S. and Caribbean forces an opportunity to address some of the most pressing issues that plague the Western Hemisphere.
For example, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service conducted a military exercise on firearms trafficking investigations. That’s an issue that is fueling increased violence and crime throughout countries like Trinidad and Tobago, which tops the charts for the highest murder rates.
More than half of murders in the Caribbean involve guns that can be traced back to the U.S. Between 2018 and 2022, 7,399 guns were recovered from crimes, of which 5,399 came from the U.S.
By partnering with friendly countries in the Caribbean, the U.S. can help stem the flow of guns to those countries, even as it works with them to stem the flow of drugs heading to the United States.
Operation Tradewinds isn’t Southern Command’s only recent cooperative exercise in the Western Hemisphere, though. U.S. special operations forces attached to the command also recently trained with their Canadian, Jamaican, Barbadian, Bahamian, Belizean, and Guyanese counterparts through Exercise Tropical Dagger, an exercise that prepares military personnel to combat crime and terrorism in jungle, maritime, and urban domains within the Caribbean.
Canada first initiated this exercise with the hope that Jamaica would grow as a special operations forces leader in the Caribbean basin and become more capable of taking the lead in countering drug trafficking and terrorism in the region.
These two exercises highlight Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s commitment to strengthening relations with the Caribbean and with the Western Hemisphere as a whole.
Before this year’s operation commenced, Rubio visited Jamaica and discussed America’s position on security assistance and cooperation. There, he stated that American assistance “should be geared towards looking for opportunities to increase skill training … [and] for opportunities to expand on [Jamaica’s] own domestic intelligence capabilities.”
Exercises like Tropical Dagger and events like Operation Tradewinds provide upgraded training to the Caribbean islands, better preparing them to manage their own security problems.
Visits from Rubio and exercises like Operation Tradewinds are critical steps in strengthening relationships with Caribbean countries and boosting efforts toward keeping American borders safe.
Reflecting on his time at Operation Tradewinds 2025, Ecuadorian Army Lt. Francisco Andres Saenz stated, “Sharing different military and cultural experiences allowed us to strengthen our camaraderie and successfully complete all the missions we were assigned.”
There is a great need for the Western Hemisphere to come together in defiance of transnational criminal organizations.
In Haiti, armed gangs increasingly assert control over key infrastructure, jeopardizing the global supply chain. Using ongoing terror tactics, gangs leverage their stronghold on the region to shut down shipping lanes, increasing the cost of shipping.
Operation Tradewinds combined the naval forces of Mexico, Canada, the U.S., Jamaica, and others, conducting exercises to enhance the ability to defend exclusive economic zones that could be a target for transnational criminal organizations.
The region also faces rampant drug trafficking. Millions of dollars in drugs are found smuggled into the United States through seaports on small boats, commercial shipping vessels, or commercial airlines.
On February 27 alone, the U.S. Coast Guard offloaded 12,470 pounds of cocaine worth $141.4 million in the Caribbean. The drug bust was a result of six interdictions involving Canada and the Netherlands.
In the closing speech of Operation Tradewinds 2025, Southern Command Commander Adm. Alvin Holsey stated, “Partnerships are our best deterrence to shared security concerns across the region.”
Rubio and Southern Command’s efforts both represent a strong step in the right direction as the United States seeks to refocus its attention on security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere.
