KEY WEST, Fla.— Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATFS) hosted a trilateral conference with officials from France and the Netherlands this week at its headquarters in Key West, Florida.
The conference provided opportunities to discuss and improve how the allies work together to defeat regional threats through detecting, monitoring and interdicting trafficking of illicit narcotics movements in the Caribbean and western Atlantic through cooperative law enforcement efforts.
“Our French and Dutch allies, with additional support from British and Canadian forces, are critical enablers of our joint effort to stop drug-trafficking organizations in the Western Hemisphere,” said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Randall, director of JIATFS. “Together, we are creating a safer world for all.”
The French delegation was led by Rear Adm. Jean-Baptiste Soubrier, commander of French forces in the Caribbean and Command Task Group 4.6. The Dutch delegation was led by Rear Adm. Walter Hansen, commander of Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean and Command Task Group 4.4.
The conference also included participants from:
- Regional Security System
- United Kingdom Royal Navy
- U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command
- U.S. Coast Guard Southeast District
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Joint Task Force-Maritime
- U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South
- U.S. Southern Command
Held from April 27 through 29, U.S, French and Dutch officials had the opportunity to discuss a range of topics, including efforts to disrupt the transatlantic flow of drugs and methods of sharing intelligence to meet those ends. Attendees also participated in U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Hybrid Fleet Campaign Fleet Experimentation Event which showcased the latest state-of-the-industry capabilities for autonomous vessels and aircraft.
France and the Netherlands, partners of JIATFS for more than 30 years in countering drug trafficking, used the meeting to support improved information sharing and cooperation to benefit efforts to stop illicit narcotic flow pursuant to international law.
About Joint Interagency Task Force South
Founded in 1989 in Key West, JIATFS is a U.S. Department of War-led organization that facilitates U.S. law enforcement agency and partner nation drug interdiction efforts in the Americas. This process is facilitated by the sharing and fusion of intelligence information with those agencies and partner nations to enable interdictions and disruption of narcotics movements in international waters before they reach their intended destination. The organization has a long history of successfully reducing the supply of deadly narcotics smuggled by violent transnational criminal organizations, including interdicting a record-setting 455.8 metric tons of cocaine in Fiscal Year 2025.