Welcome to USCG Sector San Juan
Sector San Juan conducts Coast Guard missions in the Eastern Caribbean and carries out general U.S. Coast Guard duties in military readiness.
The U.S. Coast Guard has been a proud member of the Department of Homeland Security since its inception on March 1, 2003. Sector San Juan is responsible for conducting Coast Guard missions in the Eastern Caribbean within its 1.3 million square nautical mile area of responsibility, and also carries out general U.S. Coast Guard duties in military readiness. Sector San Juan coordinates daily with partner agencies, such as, The U.S. Attorney’s Office Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces for Rapid Action, as well as, 26 partner nations.
Primary Operations, Missions & Mandates:
Search and Rescue
Ports Waterways and Coastal Security
Illegal Drug Interdiction
Migrant Interdiction
Aids to Navigation
Living Marine Resources
Marine Safety
Marine Environmental Protection
Defense Readiness
Other Law Enforcement
Today’s U.S. Coast Guard presence in the Eastern Caribbean is the result of more than 100 years of growing service based in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Sector San Juan Command is located at Base San Juan in the heart of the old city and ‘Quarters One’ is the centerpiece of the installation. Constructed in 1908, this building was originally home to the El Morro lighthouse keeper while the grounds of La Puntilla were used primarily to store aids to navigation. This base and the wide area of responsibility became the 10th Coast Guard District during World War II and was then absorbed into the Seventh Coast Guard District and renamed “The Greater Antilles Section” (GANTSEC) in 1945. GANTSEC and Marine Safety Officer San Juan were combined and restructured into Sector San Juan in September of 2004.