Jamaica and the United States have signed a new military agreement designed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries on security, organised crime, drug trafficking and disaster response.
The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was signed on August 20 and establishes a framework governing the temporary presence of US military personnel in Jamaica, as well as Jamaican military personnel in the United States, for activities agreed upon by both governments.
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The agreement covers areas including military training, joint operations and disaster-response activities, providing a clearer legal and administrative framework for personnel participating in bilateral programmes. Jamaica joins more than 120 countries that have similar arrangements with the United States.
The pact comes as Kingston and Washington deepen their cooperation in addressing the movement of illegal firearms, narcotics and organised criminal networks across the Caribbean. Both governments have increasingly placed counter-narcotics and counter-cartel operations at the centre of their security partnership.
The signing follows a meeting on August 12 between US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Jamaica’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang, held on the sidelines of the Americas Counter Cartels Coalition Forum in Panama. During that meeting, Hegseth publicly praised Jamaica’s willingness to work with the United States against what Washington describes as narco-terrorist organisations operating in the region.
The US Department of War said the agreement builds on an already established bilateral security relationship and is intended to facilitate greater cooperation while respecting the sovereignty of both countries.
For Jamaica, the agreement could provide additional opportunities for training, information sharing and coordinated responses to security threats. It may also strengthen the Jamaica Defence Force’s ability to participate in multinational operations and disaster-response exercises alongside US forces.
The agreement arrives at a time when the United States is seeking stronger regional partnerships as it expands its campaign against drug trafficking and organised criminal groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington has increasingly characterised some drug-trafficking organisations as narco-terrorist threats, prompting greater emphasis on military and security cooperation with regional governments.
Jamaica’s participation reflects its longstanding defence relationship with the United States. The two countries already cooperate through military training, exercises and other security initiatives, including a long-running partnership between the Jamaica Defence Force and the District of Columbia National Guard.
The new SOFA formalises another layer of that relationship by establishing the terms under which military personnel from either country can temporarily operate in the other’s territory for mutually agreed purposes.
The agreement is also expected to support cooperation beyond counter-narcotics. Disaster preparedness and emergency response are particularly relevant to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, where hurricanes and other natural disasters regularly require coordinated regional assistance.
With the Caribbean facing persistent challenges from illegal firearms, drug trafficking and transnational crime, Kingston and Washington are signalling that their security relationship will become increasingly operational.
The latest agreement therefore represents more than an administrative arrangement for visiting military personnel. It provides a formal framework for Jamaica and the United States to expand joint security activities while maintaining the principle that such cooperation must be undertaken with the agreement of both governments.
