MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard hosted a Semi-Annual Tri-Lateral Meeting Tuesday, at Coast Guard Air Station Miami, with French and Dutch counterparts in an effort to synchronize future maritime counter narcotics operations in the Caribbean region. The Tri-Lateral meeting helps coordinate a unified approach to countering transnational criminal organizations through close partnership with French Naval Forces and Customs authorities, Royal Netherlands Navy and Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard officials, and United States leadership from Joint Interagency Task Force-South, Customs and Border Protection, Coast Guard Sector San Juan, and Coast Guard 7th District members.
"Forums like the Tri-Lateral talks are critical to ensuring unity of effort with our partners in the Caribbean region," said Cmdr. Michael Vega, Coast Guard 7th District foreign policy advisor. "We operate seamlessly on a daily basis with our French and Dutch teammates in our collective fight against transnational criminal threats that jeopardize our collective security and prosperity. Opportunities to talk collaboratively with peers about how to approach these complex international problems help align our activities and improve our chance of success for dismantling criminal enterprises who operate in the maritime environment."
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