Through the Comando Específico de San Andrés y Providencia of the Colombian Navy, the “Event Horizon 2024” exercises were conducted. Naval and aerial components from the navies and coast guard services of Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Netherlands participated, along with representatives from the Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Jamaica.
The exercise took place in the jurisdictional waters of Jamaica and within the common regime zone established by Colombia and Jamaica in 1993. Main ships, coast guard vessels, aircraft, and other components of the participants were present “to strengthen interoperability against transnational crime and disaster response, conducting control exercises focused on countering maritime crimes, protecting the environment, and safeguarding human life“. Activities included boarding, combat exercises, joint patrols, and area defense. As is customary, social activities were also carried out with the populations near the exercise location.
The event, which lasted for 14 days and concluded on January 22, 2024, was executed by Colombia using the Missile Frigate Almirante Padilla, numbered ARC FM-051. It is an FS-1500 type frigate built at the Howaldtswerke shipyards in Kiel, Germany, with the following dimensions: length 95.30 m, beam 11.30 m, and draft 3.40 m. It has a displacement of 2300 tons and is equipped with 8 SSM-700K C-Star surface-to-surface missiles, 2 Simbad SAM missile launchers, 1 OTO Melara Strales 76 mm/62 mount, 1 double Breda 40 mm/70 mount, and 6 Mk 32 324 mm torpedoes.
The official press release specified that “with the support of a surface unit from the Dominican Republic and an aircraft from the Netherlands, the Colombian Navy and the Jamaican Defense Force exchanged information, knowledge, and capabilities through the training of their crews to increase efficiency in operations against illegal fishing, irregular migration, drug and arms trafficking, as well as search and rescue operations and humanitarian assistance“.
Rear Admiral Carlos Hernando Oramas Maldonado, Commander of the Comando Específico de San Andrés y Providencia, referred to the exercise, stating that “it is a great opportunity for us as the Colombian Navy, as it raises the level of readiness and interoperability among participating countries to better respond to the needs of potential natural disaster situations, as well as the development of maritime interdiction operations aimed at countering different threats at sea“.
This is one of the ongoing exercises that the Navy of the Republic of Colombia has been conducting to strengthen regional defense capabilities, assist partners in the hemisphere, and counter the evils affecting the countries in the region motivated by crime and transnational crime.
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