Operation Enduring Freedom - Caribbean and Central America (OEF-CCA) is the name of a U.S.-led regional military operation initiated in 2008, under the control of United States Southern Command

United States Southern Command

The United States Southern Command , located in Miami, Florida, is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning and operations in Central and South America, the Caribbean The United States Southern Command...

. It has a focus on counter-terrorism and is part of the larger Operation Enduring Freedom which was begun in a response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Operations and Costs

As part of this mission, in Fiscal Year 2009, elements of the 7th Special Forces Group

7th Special Forces Group (United States)

The 7th Special Forces Group, an operational unit of the United States Army Special Forces, was activated on 20 May 1960. It was reorganized from the 77th Special Forces Group, which was also stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Its purpose is to conduct guerrilla operations and train friendly...

were deployed to eight Central and South American nations: Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Suriname.

In 2008, a $13.8 million CT Unit Train and Equip budget was allocated to Belize, Honduras, Guyana and Suriname. An additional $12.9 million Counterterrorism Capabilities budget was allocated to Mexico.

"No Known Operational Cells"

According to a Congressional Research Service report published in February 2011, "In its 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism (issued in August 2010), the State Department maintained that terrorism in the region was primarily perpetrated by terrorist organizations in Colombia and by the remnants of radical leftist Andean groups. Overall, however, the report maintained that the threat of a transnational terrorist attack remained low for most countries in the hemisphere." The report concluded, "The State Department maintains that there are no known operation cells of either Al Qaeda or Hezbollah-related groups in the hemisphere, although it notes that ideological sympathizers continue to provide financial and moral support to these and other terrorist groups in the Middle East and South Asia."

External Links

Statement of Admiral James G. Stavridis, United States Navy Commander, United States Southern Command Before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, March 5, 2008