U.S and Colombia conduct naval exercises near Cartagena

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USS Minnesota/U.S Navy

The U.S nuclear submarine USS Minnesota and combat ship USS Billings conducted a bilateral anti-submarine warfare training exercise in Colombian waters close to the port of Cartagena. The Virginia-class fast attack submarine was joined by the Colombian navy submarine ARC Pijao, frigates ARC Independiente and ARC Almirante Padilla, as well as helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft.

The bilateral exercises allowed both Armed Forces to trade “expertise with each other to maximize communication and understanding of one another’s shared tactics and procedures to facilitate naval operations against emerging threats in the region,” reads a statement from the U.S 4th Fleet. This engagement also “afforded the opportunity for both navies to demonstrate their ability to communicate, navigate, and operate together at sea.”

Colombia’s Almirante Padilla frigate sails alongside USS Billings during an anti-submarine warfare exercise. Photo: Petty Officer 3rd Class Aaron Lau/U.S Navy.

The USS Minnesota left its home base in New London, Connecticut, and is heading to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. USS Billings is deployed to the 4th Fleet to counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, among other interagency missions.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/ 4th Fleet believes these “combined military operations (…) build enduring partnerships to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region.”

This is the first time a U.S nuclear sub has entered Colombian waters.

The exercises some 130 kms from Cartagena raised the ire of Venezuela’s Defense Minister and commander of the Armed Forces, General Vladimir Padrino who stated on Twitter: “Why so much imperialist ostentation? Is it a replica of the NATO expansion in the Mediterranean of America? Drug trafficking, the war in Arauca, systematic murders and terrorist groups cannot be fought with nuclear submarines. I reject it categorically.”

The USS Minnesota was commissioned in 2013 and is the third U.S. Navy ship to share the name of the North Star State. The fast attack submarine is among the most expensive in the Pentagon’s arsenal, worth some U.S$2.7 billion.