Operation Enduring Freedom – Caribbean and Central America
Operation Enduring Freedom – Caribbean and Central America (OEF-CCA) is a U.S.-led regional military operation started in 2008 under the U.S. Southern Command. It focuses on counter-terrorism as part of the larger Operation Enduring Freedom, which began after the 9/11 attacks.
In 2009, elements of the 7th Special Forces Group were deployed to eight countries: Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname.
In 2008, the United States allocated $13.8 million to train and equip counter-terrorist units in Belize, Honduras, Guyana, and Suriname. An additional $12.9 million was allotted to Mexico for counterterrorism capabilities.
A 2011 Congressional Research Service report summarizes the State Department’s findings: terrorism in the region was mainly linked to groups in Colombia and remnants of radical leftist Andean networks, but the overall risk of a transnational terrorist attack remained low for most countries. The report notes there were no known operation cells of Al Qaeda or Hezbollah in the Americas, though sympathizers continued to provide financial and moral support to these and other groups in the Middle East and South Asia.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:56 (CET).