Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ville de Quebec departed Halifax
today on Operation Caribbe, Canada’s continuing commitment to the
multinational effort to suppress illicit narcotics trafficking in the
Caribbean Sea.
During the deployment,
the Halifax-class frigate and her crew of approximately 220 personnel
will work with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and other regional
partners to locate and track vessels of interest.
The
trafficking of illicit narcotics is a significant source of revenue for
organized crime and a growing threat to global security. Operation
Caribbe is one of the many activities that the Government of Canada and
the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) undertake as part of Canada’s broad
focus and ongoing engagement in the Americas and the Caribbean.
This
annual operation directly supports the CAF’s mission to defend against
threats and security challenges to Canada and North America. The CAF has
deployed a periodic rotation of warships as well as CP-140 Aurora
aircraft from both East and West Coasts since 2006 to ensure continuous
support to this operation.