The Bahamas, September 10, 2025 – Rescue swimmers from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama visited Nassau to train Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) and Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) members in water survival skills as part of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) earlier this week.

“Training alongside our USCG partners ensures our personnel are best prepared for the unique challenges of joint operations” said Superintendent Wendy Pearson, Commander Drug Enforcement Unit.

The multi-day exercise, centered on the USCG’s Shallow Water Egress Training (SWET), enhanced the safety and preparedness of Bahamian partners who routinely operate aboard USCG helicopters during OPBAT missions. The exercise provided hands-on instruction for 31 participants and strengthened interoperability between U.S. and Bahamian agencies engaged in counter-drug, search and rescue, and maritime security operations throughout the region.

“We were excited and proud to have the opportunity to share our expertise with our Bahamian partners. Not only did RBDF and RBPF perform exceptionally well, they exceeded the standards we set for the event,” said Petty Officer Second Class Cole Johnson, USCG.

OPBAT is a cooperative multi-agency international operation supporting The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands to stop illicit drug smuggling through the region. U.S. Embassy Nassau Chargé d’affaires Kimberly Furnish stated, “Since 1982, OPBAT has worked to stop the flow of illicit narcotics through the Caribbean, destined for the United States or other jurisdictions.  This is international cooperation at its best.”

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

A tragic and surreal incident aboard Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas has left passengers shaken and authorities investigating.  The world’s largest cruise ship was sailing near San Salvador, Bahamas on July 24, when a crew member allegedly stabbed another colleague before leaping overboard to his death.

The suspect, a male crew member whose identity has not yet been officially released, reportedly used a sharp object in the attack, which resulted in serious injuries to a fellow crewman.  According to CBS News, ship officials immediately activated emergency protocols.

Despite rapid response efforts — including an extensive search and rescue attempt involving the U.S. Coast Guard and Bahamian authorities — the overboard crew member was later found deceased.

The victim of the stabbing survived and was treated by medical staff on board.

The incident occurred on the fourth day of the Icon of the Seas‘ seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise, which departed Miami, Florida on July 20 and was scheduled to visit St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay before returning to Miami on July 27.  It was during the ship’s transit between ports — in Bahamian waters — that the violent altercation unfolded.

Passengers described an eerie quiet as the ship slowed and announcements were made about the search.  Some were aware something serious had happened, but few details were provided during the sailing.

Royal Caribbean has yet to issue a full statement on the matter, and the names of both individuals involved remain withheld.  The matter is under active investigation by maritime and Bahamian authorities.

The Icon of the Seas, launched in January 2024, carries more than 7,600 passengers and crew and is registered in The Bahamas.

By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media

The Bahamas, August 4, 2025 – If the goal of the Pan American Health Organization’s latest publication on The Bahamas was to provide insight into how the country is doing on key health metrics, it fell short of the mark.  Released in July, the “Country Annual Report 2023” is long on administrative updates and regional cooperation, but light on the kind of data and declarations that help the average Bahamian—and even policymakers—understand where we stand and where we’re headed.

There is no clear charting of metrics like hospital performance, primary health care delivery, response to chronic illnesses, or mental health outcomes.  That’s unfortunate, because amid real concerns about the national healthcare system—especially in the Family Islands—this report had the potential to inform and even motivate progress.  Instead, it reads like a list of meeting notes: how many workshops PAHO attended, which training events were facilitated, and how many tools were drafted.

To its credit, the document does highlight some technical support provided to The Bahamas in areas like food safety, climate-related health resilience, and disease surveillance. There’s also mention of support during the dengue scare and a nod to partnerships with local organizations like the Red Cross and the Department of Public Health.  However, these came with no measurable outcomes. Were lives saved? Were infections reduced? Did this support prevent hospital overflow? We don’t know.

It is not that PAHO doesn’t care.  It’s that the way the information is presented in this document simply doesn’t deliver for Bahamians.  For a country that continues to invest in its healthcare infrastructure and workforce, we deserve a report that goes deeper and offers transparent findings on population health.

What We Want to See Next Time:

Future reports should include measurable indicators of health system performance. Give us year-over-year comparisons.  Tell us how we compare to other Caribbean countries.  Include patient satisfaction surveys, vaccination uptake rates, health equity assessments.  And please—put The Bahamas in its own spotlight, rather than folding it into a list of regional statistics.

PAHO has the access and the expertise. The next step is ensuring the report reflects the lived experience of those it claims to represent.