U.S. Navy, USCG Seize 580 Kilos of Cocaine in Two At-Sea Drug Busts in Caribbean
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, Detachment Three, made the two busts in the Caribbean, confiscating more than $12M worth of illicit drugs.
Coast Guard Seizes $214M Worth of Cocaine
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball offloaded 18K pounds of cocaine April 24 in San Diego. The drugs were seized during 6 separate interdictions or events off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America from February - April.
Hospital Ship to Deploy to Latin America and the Caribbean for Continuing Promise Mission
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced April 9 that USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) will deploy in support of Continuing Promise 2025 later this year and provide medical care, foster goodwill, and strengthen partnerships.
Air Force Delivers Critical Care in St. Kitts and Nevis, Enhances Readiness
During the latest phase of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025 mission, USAF medical professionals worked alongside local counterparts to provide care to more than 2,000 people in St. Kitts and Nevis.
WATCH: Hegseth Addresses Central American Defense & Security Leaders at CENTSEC 25 in Panama
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers opening remarks during the 2025 Central American Security Conference in Panama City, Panama, April 9, 2025.
CENTSEC Remarks Transcript| U.S. Partnering With Panama to Secure Canal, Deter China

LATEST NEWS AND RELEASES

40th iteration of exercise TRADEWINDS 25 unites 26 nations promoting security in the Western Hemisphere
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan Pettus, military deputy commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), provides opening remarks at Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago during TRADEWINDS 25 (TW25) on April 26, 2025. TW25 is a SOUTHCOM-sponsored and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-approved annual exercise that bolsters regional stability and demonstrates U.S. Joint Force coordination and interoperability with Allies and partners. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt Leona C. Hendrickson)
April 28, 2025 - More than 1,000 service members, law enforcement professionals, government officials and other participants from 26 partner and allied nations gathered at Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago, on April 26 to officially commence TRADEWINDS 25, the U.S. Southern Command-sponsored, U.S. Army South-led multinational, multi-domain exercise.
Coast Guard offloads more than $214 million worth of illegal cocaine in San Diego
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) crew members, Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Los Angeles/Long Beach, Navy, Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville all stand at attention during an all hands event during a drug offload in San Diego April 24, 2025. The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball’s crew and their partners can operate in the most demanding open ocean environments, and the vast approaches of the Southern Pacific, where significant narcotics trafficking occurs. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Wiley)
April 24, 2025 - SAN DIEGO — The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) offloaded approximately 18,898 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated value of more than $214.3 million, on Thursday in San Diego.  
Chile’s Top Military Officer Visits SOUTHCOM
Chilean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Adm. Pablo Niemann Figari and U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), walk to the entrance of the SOUTHCOM headquarters as honors are rendered, April 23, 2025, in Doral, Florida. Niemann visited SOUTHCOM to meet with command leaders to discuss the U.S.-Chilean bilateral defense partnership and regional security. (Photo by Senior Airman Christopher Bermudez, SOUTHCOM Public Affairs)
April 23, 2025 - Chilean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Adm. Pablo Niemann Figari visited U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) April 23, 2025, to meet with SOUTHCOM commander, U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, and command leaders to discuss security cooperation.
LAMAT 2025 culminates in Guyana
April 21, 2025 - The Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team 2025 mission concluded two weeks of intensive medical collaboration between U.S. military personnel and their Guyanese counterparts.
Ready Now, and Anywhere, 433rd Citizen Airmen go to Guyana for LAMAT 2025
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Suzanne Redd, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron senior enlisted leader, and Julia Ann Sarjoo, Georgetown Public Hospital phlebotomist, take blood from a child patient with help from the child’s mother at the pediatric emergency section at Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 2, 2025. The LAMAT mission brings together medical military members and local healthcare workers in Latin America and the Caribbean region to facilitate knowledge sharing and for skills transfer between host nation counterparts and U.S. military personnel to strengthen partnerships. The knowledge exchange is mutually beneficial for healthcare workers to learn from each other to improve critical care skills to impact and save lives. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jacob Lewis)
April 17, 2025 - The final health engagement of the 2025 Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) mission began March 31, leaving a lasting impact on both the people and providers of Guyana—as well as the nearly 60 U.S. Air Force medical professionals who supported the mission.
USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul Makes Multiple Drug Busts
250326-N-OZ224-3072 NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (Mar. 26, 2025) - The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21) departs Naval Station Mayport for her maiden deployment, Mar. 26, 2025. LCS 21 is deploying to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations is support of counter-illicit drug trafficking operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brandon J. Vinson)
April 17, 2025 - The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21), in coordination with joint partners, stopped two alleged drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean Sea within a 72-hour span.
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PHOTOS

40th iteration of exercise TRADEWINDS 25 unites 26 nations promoting security in the Western Hemisphere
40th iteration of exercise TRADEWINDS 25 unites 26 nations promoting security in the Western Hemisphere
40th iteration of exercise TRADEWINDS 25 unites 26 nations promoting security in the Western Hemisphere
Two men in white military uniforms shake hands.
A man in a white military uniform holds a ceremonial rifle on his shoulder.
Crew members from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) stack bales of interdicted illegal drugs on the flight deck to prepare for offload in San Diego, April 24, 2025. The crew members seized the narcotics in the Eastern Pacific during counter-narcotic patrols. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Richard Uranga)
Crew members aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) stage pallets of cocaine to be transferred during a drug offload event in San Diego, April 24, 2025. Kimball was able to seize over $214 million dollars worth of cocaine during their patrol of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Wiley)
Captain Robert Kinsey, Commanding Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) speaks at a press conference during a drug offload event in San Diego April 24, 2025. Multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security, collaborate in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Wiley)
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) crew members, Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Los Angeles/Long Beach, Navy, Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville all stand at attention during an all hands event during a drug offload in San Diego April 24, 2025. The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball’s crew and their partners can operate in the most demanding open ocean environments, and the vast approaches of the Southern Pacific, where significant narcotics trafficking occurs. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Wiley)
Two men in white military uniforms pose for a photo.
Two men in white military uniforms stand saluting at the foot of a red carpet flanked by a military honor guard.
Two men in white military uniforms shake hands.
Col. James Bershinsky, 433rd Medical Group and Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team commander, provides opening remarks during Guyana LAMAT 2025 opening ceremony, Georgetown, Guyana, March 31, 2025.
President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Melissa A. Coburn, 22nd Air Force commander, poses for a photo after the President of Guyana gifted Coburn with his presidential coin after the closing ceremony for the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission at the Guyana President’s estate in Georgetown, Guyana, April 11, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Melissa A. Coburn, 22nd Air Force commander, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Angella Mudd, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron and LAMAT Guyana mission commander, and U.S. Air Force LAMAT members pose for a group photo following the closing ceremony for the LAMAT mission at the Guyana President’s estate in Georgetown, Guyana, April 11, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jermey Bolin, 959th Medical Group vascular surgeon, left, Tameshwar Algu, New Amsterdam Hospital general surgeon, center-left, U.S. Air Force Maj. Porter Maerz, 96th Surgical Operations Squadron general surgeon, center-right, and U.S. Air Force Capt. Randy Perez, 301st Medical Squadron operating room nurse, right, performs a vascular procedure on a patient at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital in New Amsterdam, Guyana, April 1, 2025.
U.S. Air Force members from the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistant Team and Georgetown Public Hospital healthcare professionals at the Georgetown Public Hospital examine a two-month-old patient under anesthesia before receiving eye surgery in Georgetown, Guyana, April 7, 2025.
U.S. Air Force members from the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistant Team and Georgetown Public Hospital healthcare professionals at the Georgetown Public Hospital administer general anesthesia on a two-month-old patient before receiving eye surgery in Georgetown, Guyana, April 7, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rodrigo Salinas, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, and Gangapattie Dani, Georgetown Public Hospital Accident and Emergency Department ward manager, pose for a photos outside the emergency room at the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 7, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Wan Chen, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron psychiatric nurse practitioner, and U.S. Air Force Maj. Quinton Murry, 433rd ASTS psychiatric nurse practitioner, pose for a photo outside the psychiatry clinic at the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 7, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Samuel Hobbs, 59th Medical Wing vitreoretinal surgeon, works with local healthcare professionals during ophthalmology surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Georgetown, Guyana, April 7, 2025 during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team 2025 mission.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Alisha Young, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron critical care air transport team physician, draws an arterial blood gas sample from a patient at the emergency room inside the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 3, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Alisha Young, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron critical care air transport team physician, teaches an internal medicine intern how to draw an arterial blood gas sample from a patient at the emergency room inside the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 3, 2025.
U.S. Air Force members from the 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron work with Guyanese healthcare professionals during an emergency at the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 3, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Alisha Young, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron critical care air transport team physician, and U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rodrigo Salinas, 433rd ASTS medical technician, provides assistance to doctors and healthcare professionals during an emergency at the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 3, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Alisha Young, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron critical care air transport team physician, and U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rodrigo Salinas, 433rd ASTS medical technician, provides assistance to doctors during a medical procedure at the emergency room inside Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 2, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Brandon Lowe, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, observes while Julia Ann Sarjoo, Georgetown Public Hospital phlebotomist, takes blood from a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 2, 2025.
Dental tools for the U.S. Air Force Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team members are displayed after being used on a patient for dental operations at the Port Mourant Hospital during the LAMAT mission in Port Mourant, Guyana, March 31, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Dailey, Air Combat Command Surgeon General reserve expeditionary dentistry consultant, center, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cassie Talley, 302nd Airlift Wing dental technician, right, and Christina Seenarine, Guyanese dental assistant, left, operate on a patient at the Port Mourant Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Port Mourant, Guyana, March 31, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacqueline Candejas, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, entertains a child patient while the patient and their mother wait for lab test results at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital emergency room in New Amsterdam, Guyana, April 1, 2025.
President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Melissa A. Coburn, 22nd Air Force commander, U.S. Air Force Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team members, and other Guyanese government officials pose for a group photo following the closing ceremony for the LAMAT mission at the Guyana President’s estate in Georgetown, Guyana, April 11, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Ross Johnson, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron dentist, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cassie Talley, 302nd Airlift Wing dental technician, and healthcare professionals from Port Mourant Hospital provide dental care to a child patient at the Port Mourant Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Port Mourant, Guyana, April 9, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Edward Park, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, performs intravenous therapy on a patient inside the emergency room at the West Demerara Regional Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 8, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Erin Summers, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, and Kimberley Grumble-Munroe, West Demerara Hospital registered nurse, work together to administer multiple sutures on a patient who experienced head trauma in a vehicular accident at the West Demerara Regional Hospital emergency room during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 8, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Liezel Westmoreland, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron biomedical equipment technician, and Kumar Persaud, Ministry of Health biomedical technician assemble a cryotherapy gun at the West Demerara Regional Hospital during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in Georgetown, Guyana, April 8, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Samuel Hobbs, 59th Medical Wing vitreoretinal surgeon, and Georgetown Public Hospital healthcare professionals at the Georgetown Public Hospital examine a two-month-old patient under anesthesia before receiving eye surgery in Georgetown, Guyana, April 7, 2025.
The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21) departs Naval Station Mayport for her maiden deployment, Mar. 26, 2025. LCS 21 is deploying to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations is support of counter-illicit drug trafficking operations.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Desiree Cubero (center), 433rd Medical Squadron medical technician, administers a vision screening to a Kittitian woman during a health fair at the Newtown Community Center as part of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025 in St. Kitts and Nevis, April 2, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Thomas Murph, 433rd Medical Squadron emergency room nurse, assists Kittitian first responders at Joseph N. France General Hospital in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis to move a man injured after a fall April 1, 2025.
U.S. Air Force medical personnel pose for a group photo outside Alexandria Hospital in Charlestown, St. Kitts and Nevis, March 26, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jessica Harvey, a 433rd Medical Squadron dentist, works alongside a St. Kitts and Nevis dental assistant to treat a local patient at the Newtown Dental Clinic in St. Kitts and Nevis, March 24, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Frank Bradfield III, Air Force Reserve Command deputy commander, and Col. James “Matt” Bershinsky, 433rd Medical Group commander, pose for a photo with the Honorable Dr. Terrance M. Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, following the closing ceremony for the St. Kitts and Nevis phase of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025 mission April 4, 2025.
Representatives of all the partner nations participating in the St. Kitts and Nevis phase of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025 mission hold hands during the singing of “Heal the World” as part of the closing ceremony for this phase April 4, 2025.
Members of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025 mission pose for a group photo with the Honorable Dr. Terrance M. Drew (center), the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Health, and other key Kittitian and Nevisian leaders at the Governor General’s official residence in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, April 2, 2025.
U.S Air Force Capt. Jessica Hall (center left),910th Medical Squadron dietician, provides nutritional education to a Kittitian couple during a health fair at the Newtown Community Center as part of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2025 mission in St. Kitts and Nevis, April 2, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jessica Harvey (right), 433rd Medical Squadron dentist, and Master Sgt. Carmen Depaola (left), 349th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental technician, repair a patient’s chipped tooth at Pogson Dental Clinic on St. Kitts and Nevis, April 1, 2025.
Dr. Natalie Osborne, a Kittitian general surgeon, and other medical professionals listen to a lecture about traumatic brain injuries at Joseph N. France General Hospital in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, April 1, 2025.
U.S Air Force Maj. Mohammed Osman, 433rd Medical Squadron neurocritical care physician, delivers a lecture about traumatic brain injuries at Joseph N. France General Hospital in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, April 1, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roman Calloway, 433rd Medical Squadron medical technician, works with other Air Force medical professionals to treat a three-month-old infant in the emergency room at Alexandria Hospital in St. Kitts and Nevis, March 28, 2025.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Ann Kronenwetter, 433rd Medical Squadron pediatrician, reviews and coordinates the medications being used to treat a three-month-old infant in the emergency room at Alexandria Hospital in St. Kitts and Nevis, March 28, 2025.

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