Members of the United States Armed Forces may soon be on the ground in Jamaica.

This follows the signing of a Status of Forces Agreement, SOFA, between Jamaica and the United States.

It formalizes the terms governing the presence of U.S. military personnel in Jamaica conducting mutually agreed activities.

These include training exercises and joint operations.

The agreement was announced in a joint media statement on Thursday.

Both governments say the agreement builds on decades of security cooperation between the Jamaica Defence Force and the U.S. military, including joint training, professional exchanges, and humanitarian and disaster response activities.

They say SOFA will also deepen cooperation in the fight against criminal organisations and narco-terrorists involved in trafficking guns, drugs and people.

It provides what the two countries describe as a “modern and predictable framework” for cooperation in regional security, defence and disaster response.

The signing follows discussions between U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and Jamaica’s Deputy Prime Minister and National Security Minister, Dr. Horace Chang, during the Americas Counter Cartels Coalition Forum in Panama on August 12.

According to the US and Jamaican governments, the agreement reaffirms their commitment to a strong security partnership and advancing mutual interests.

With SOFA, Jamaica now joins more than 120 countries that have similar agreements with the U.S.