Captain Shawn Adderley Staff Officer Legal Affairs and Captain Derrick Ferguson Staff Intelligence Officer accompanied the Minister of National Security the Honourable Wayne Munroe, K.C., M.P., Ambassador Jerusa Léa Ali Director General Foreign Affairs, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Roberto Goodman, Chief Revenue Officer, Neville Stubbs, Director Sametria McKinney, Bahamas Computer Incident Response Team, and Commander Victor Lange, Senior Military Representative, US Military Group, US Embassy (The Bahamas), at the inaugural Americas Counter-Cartel Conference, at the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters in Doral, Florida, on 4-6 March 2026.
The conference brought together regional defence ministers and military leaders from across the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America to achieve shared security objectives.
US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, emphasized that “In this new world, we share the same interests, and because of this, we face an essential test, whether our nations will be and remain Western nations with distinct characteristics, Christian nations under God, proud of our shared heritage with strong borders and prosperous people ruled not by violence and chaos,”.
The Honourable Wayne Munroe affirmed “Consistent with our existing bilateral agreements and with full respect for the sovereignty and laws of each country, and with due regard to international legal norms, the Ministry of National Security intends to work closely with the United States Department of War in expanding joint military cooperation, recognising the shared responsibility for regional security and stability”.
Subsequently, he communicated three priorities: greater cooperation for expanding Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), operational since 1982; enhanced maritime patrol capabilities for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force; and structured interoperability training with USNORTHCOM and USSOUTHCOM assets. The priorities were framed as strategic investments in a geography that straddles the hemisphere’s main trafficking corridors, consistent with President Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy objective of a Western Hemisphere free from cartel dominance.
The culmination of the conference was the signing of a joint security declaration, reaffirming a commitment to peace, sovereignty and stability in the region by Secretary Hegseth, and representatives from 17 countries throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Under the leadership of Commander Defence Force, Commodore Floyd Moxey, the RBDF is optimizing excelling by bridging generations and embracing modernization. As such, we remain committed to contributing to a secure, stable and prosperous hemisphere.
