Navy SEALs deploy to Trinidad and Tobago to help counter drug trafficking into the U.S.

According to Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, as of late June, U.S. Navy SEALs were located on the archipelagic nation to handle logistics for “a larger deployment of SEAL teams to Trinidad and Tobago.”

The presence of the SEALs there is likely a part of the Trump Administration’s wider effort to target narcotics trafficking into the United States from the region, though no public announcement from the U.S. military has described the mission as such. The SEAL deployment into the country also coincides with a four-day joint training program last month between U.S. special operations forces (SOF) and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC).

The Trump administration has made no secret of its increased military and intelligence operations to counter the flow of drugs into the United States.

High-profile missile strikes against alleged narcotics smuggling boats in the Pacific have been only the most visible of those efforts, and reports also state that the CIA has stepped up its counter-narcotics operations. Tellingly, the killing of cartel leader “El Mencho” in Jalisco state in Mexico in February reportedly involved the support of U.S.-provided intelligence.

Trinidad and Tobago has seen a variety of illegal drugs transshipped through its territory to the U.S. since at least as early as the 1960s. This is due to the Caribbean nation’s proximity to Venezuela and its plentiful ports and coastline.

The current Trinidadian government is publicly keen to welcome U.S. aid in countering this flow of drugs and describes the effort as part of an organized program to combat criminal gangs and general crime in the country.

Navy SEALs conduct Fast Rope Insertion/Extraction System (FRIES) training with Guatemalan Naval Special Forces. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Iman Broady-Chin)

The Navy SEALs’ presence in Trinidad and Tobago to help in combating narcotics trafficking and aiding in the general defense of the country’s national interests would fall into the SOF mission set known as “Foreign Internal Defense” (FID).

The goal of FID is not to fight a partner country’s battles for it, but rather, to “build capacity” in the country by training and assisting its forces in combating the national security threats on their own.

Still, that does not mean that U.S. SOF do not occasionally play an active role while on FID missions. In the case of the SEALs in Trinidad, that might mean boarding and seizing a suspected drug-smuggling vessel alongside and in support of the country’s defense force, for example. The key point is that the mission is officially led by the host nation, with the support of U.S. SOF.

Related: Mishaps during Rubber Duck operations with the Delta Force

The FID mission has long been the bread and butter of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, but SEALs have also played a role in FID for decades. Reports indicate a similar recent SEAL FID deployment to Mexico, for example

American special operations units have been busy in Mexico, Central, and South America in recent years, with the highlight being the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the Delta Force, 160th SOAR, and the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team in January.

All of this activity underscores the increased focus placed by the current administration on combating narcotics trafficking. The roots of the effort go back in time, as it was almost 35 years ago – in 1993 – that the U.S. government provided intelligence and law enforcement assistance to the Colombian government in its successful mission to target and kill the infamous Medellin Cartel leader Pablo Escobar.

The war on drugs has definitely re-entered a “hot phase.”

Feature Image: U.S. Navy Seals conduct boat seizure training with Guatemalan soldiers during CENTAM Guardian 2023 in Guatemala, Mar 23. 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Hunter Garcia)

Read more from Sandboxx News

Does “The Punisher: One Last Kill” do the iconic character justice?

Air Force wants to replace the MQ-9 Reaper with drone swarms

Could America have taken over the world after WWII?

Trump says U.S. will give Ukraine permission to manufacture Patriot missiles

Ukrainian drones flew all the way to Siberia to strike Russia’s largest oil refinery