The patrol craft escort HMBS Kamalamee, background, and another RBDF vessel intercept and disable a high-speed vessel carrying contraband in Bahamian waters near Ragged Island in December 2023. ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE
THE WATCH STAFF
An executive order signed by United States President Donald Trump in January 2025 that will increase the U.S. Coast Guard’s presence between Florida and the Bahamas could allow the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) to move its assets to other areas, Bahamas Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said. “If the Coast Guard increases, for instance, its presence between the northern Bahamas and the U.S., then there would be little reason for duplication of those efforts, and we may well be able to direct maritime assets elsewhere,” he told reporters January 24, 2025, the Nassau Guardian newspaper reported. “The RBDF operates closely with the Coast Guard in our efforts to interdict migration, drugs and weapons trafficking.”
The new acting commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin Lunday, said in a news release January 21, 2025, that he had directed his operational commanders “to immediately surge assets — cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces — to increase Coast Guard presence and focus” in key areas, including the maritime border between the Bahamas and south Florida.
The other key areas are:
- The southeast U.S. border approaching Florida, to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from Haiti and/or Cuba.
- The maritime border around Alaska, Hawaii, the U.S. territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- The southwest maritime border between the U.S. and Mexico in the Pacific.
- The maritime border between Texas and Mexico.
- Support Customs and Border Protection on maritime portions of the southwest U.S. border.
Lunday’s news release came just hours after he was elevated to lead the service after the Trump White House and acting head of the Department of Homeland Security dismissed Adm. Linda Fagan, partly due to its perception of a failure in border security and coordination with Homeland Security, The Maritime Executive website reported. “Together, in coordination with our Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense teammates, we will detect, deter and interdict illegal migration, drug smuggling and other terrorist or hostile activity before it reaches our border,” Lunday said in the release.
Illegal maritime migration from Haiti and Cuba slowed significantly in 2023 and 2024, the Miami Herald reported. The newspaper credited increased patrols by the Coast Guard and Florida state authorities. The RBDF reported a 37% decrease in migrant apprehensions in 2024, totaling 2,019 compared to 3,201 in 2023, the Tribune of Nassau newspaper reported.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in March 2024, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), cited the importance of the Bahamas and the RBDF.
“The Bahamas is a growing and willing partner in maritime security and associated intelligence and information sharing. … The USNORTHCOM bilateral frameworks with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force, and with other U.S. partners such as the United States Coast Guard and the Rhode Island National Guard are important to advancing mutual defense and security objectives. USNORTHCOM will continue to work closely with the RBDF to enhance shared maritime domain awareness and cooperation, and I look forward to building further on an already strong and beneficial relationship.”