June 2, 2016: Since 2004 the United States has sponsored a commando and special operations competition (Fuerzas Comando) for police and military special operations forces from countries in the Americas. The 2016 competition was won by a team from Colombia, followed by teams from Honduras, Peru, Mexico, and the United States. There were teams from twenty nations this year, including 160 operators who competed in eight days of individual and team events. Since 2009 there has been a similar event, called Warrior Competition, including 27 teams from eleven nations (including the United States, China, Russia and Pakistan). The individual and team events take place over five days. In 2015 there were 37 teams from 18 nations.

Some nations, like China, see these events as a way to demonstrate the effectiveness of their relatively unknown commandos. A Chinese team won in 2014 while in 2015 a Russian team was first. The 2016 competition had a Lebanese team in first place. However some of the best American, Russian and other special operations units do not compete because they are out working. This has been common for as long as these competitions has been held. Even so, the Chinese faced stiff competition and acquitted themselves well. This demonstrates how well Chinese military units can do with good leadership and sufficient money for the best equipment and lots of training. Colombian commandos have been very busy for over a decade and have had more time to compete lately because their past efforts have eliminated a lot of the rebels and drug cartels they have been fighting for years.