U.S. BASES IN
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN |
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
OF U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE |
| Guantánamo Bay, Cuba |
United States military has about 850 U.S. forces from five branches stationed in Guantánamo. Its military base, now largely a detention facility for foreign prisoners in the “war on terrorism,” is the oldest U.S. base outside of the continental United States and the only permanent overseas U.S. presence within a country the U.S. regards as hostile. |
| Soto Cano, Honduras |
About 550 U.S. troops are stationed in Honduras as part of JTF-Bravo's mission “to enhance cooperative regional security through forward presence and peacetime engagement operations.” Specific activities include military exercises, humanitarian and civic assistance projects, disaster relief, and support for counter-drug operations.
JTF-Bravo also assists Central American armed forces in “restructuring their militaries to fit changing security requirements.” |
| Manta, Ecuador |
Forward Operating Location
From the Eloy Alfaro International Airport, U.S. Navy P-3 Maritime Patrol Aircraft conduct counter-drug detection and monitoring missions. |
| Aruba |
Forward Operating Location
The U.S. has a small presence in Aruba, with two medium and three small aircraft, about fifteen permanently assigned staff and twenty to twenty-five temporarily deployed operations and maintenance personnel. |
| Curaçao,
Netherlands Antilles |
Forward Operating Location
The Curaçao section of this Caribbean FOL hosts F-16s, Navy P-3 and E-2 Airborne Early Warning planes, E-3 AWACS and other military aircraft. As many as 200 to 230 U.S. military personnel are temporarily deployed on operations at this base. |
| Comalapa, El Salvador |
Forward Operating Location
The Salvadoran facility hosts four P-3 (or similar sized) aircraft. The main focus of the flights using this site is detecting maritime drug trafficking, especially in the Pacific. |
| Seventeen Counter-Drug Radar Sites |
In Colombia, Peru, and in mobile and secret locations, the United States military operates radar sites to detect possible drug-smuggling flights. In most cases, the radar sites are located within host-country military bases, but U.S. personnel are in charge of their own security. A typical detachment consists of 36 to 45 personnel. Known Radar LocationsColombiaLeticia (southeastern Colombia)Marandúa (east, along border with Venezuela)Ríohacha (northeast, on the Caribbean coast)San Andrés (east of Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea)San José del Guaviare (southern central Colombia)Tres Esquinas (south west, near border of Ecuador) PeruIquitos (on the Amazon River in near Colombian border)Andoas (Northern Peru, between Colombia and Ecuador)Pucallpa (on the Ucayali River near Brazil) The rest of the radar sites are either mobile or in secret locations. |