Usa Withdrawal – By Kisean Joseph
Usa Withdrawal Forces Rethink
The United States has withdrawn from the annual Caribbean military exercise, leaving Antigua and Barbuda to re-strategise its security preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Telbert Benjamin confirmed that Washington — the exercise’s primary funder and lead partner — informed local authorities it would no longer participate in Trade Winds 2026, citing pressing operational requirements.
“We have been advised by our partner, the U.S., that Exercise Trade Winds 2026 has been cancelled due to operational requirements for the United States,” Benjamin said.
Trade Winds 2026 had been specifically designed to serve as Antigua and Barbuda’s primary stress test of local defence and security capabilities ahead of CHOGM, which the twin-island nation is scheduled to host later this year. Its cancellation has forced both the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) and the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda (RPFAB) to urgently revisit their readiness roadmap.
Benjamin was careful to distance the withdrawal from any bilateral tensions, framing it instead as a consequence of broader global pressures on American resources.
“The explanation given is a reflection of what is happening from a global standpoint and not something specific to either Antigua or to the region,” he said.
Regional partners, he noted, remain committed. However, Benjamin acknowledged that filling the financial void left by the US represents the most pressing challenge now facing planners.
“The most significant challenge that we are faced with is really the funding to support the exercise itself. You can imagine that moving more than 500 persons here with all the equipment and the resources required for training would be a rather costly venture,” he said.
In response, the ABDF and RPFAB have begun engaging with regional and international partners to map alternative training pathways that can achieve the same objectives. Critically, Benjamin confirmed the revised approach will preserve the same June-to-August operational window, with exercises to be carried out alongside North American and European allies.
“Over the next couple of months — using the same timeline of June, July, August — the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, partnering with the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda and other local stakeholders, will engage in training activities with our international partners, including other North American and European partners, to ensure we can achieve the objectives originally set out in Exercise Trade Winds,” he said.
Benjamin remained firm that the cancellation amounts to little more than a minor setback, describing it as “but a glitch” and expressing full confidence the force would be ready for CHOGM.
“Despite the departure of our main sponsor, we are confident that we will be able to do the necessary testing to make sure that we can meet and treat whatever issues may arise during the period of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference,” he said.
