A senior United States Special Forces officer, found dead at The Westin Hotel in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan neighbourhood on August 31, had checked in two days earlier than police initially stated, according to hotel and security sources.
The deceased has been identified as Terrence Arvelle Jackson, 50. He first arrived in Bangladesh in April this year and, according to Dhaka Police, travelled to different parts of the country on “work related to his government”.
Police had previously maintained that Jackson was in the country on “business”.
Jackson’s presence in Bangladesh is now being linked to classified assignments. Multiple sources revealed that he was involved in imparting military training to Bangladeshi Army officers at undisclosed locations. His work reportedly continued for at least four months before his death.
Police sources earlier said Jackson checked into The Westin at 3 p.m. on August 29. However, hotel and security officials told Northeast News that the booking was made by a US embassy official and that Jackson checked in on August 27, a Thursday.
Records confirmed by two separate sources showed that he dined at the hotel restaurant on August 28 and went out briefly on August 29. He did not leave his room at all on August 30 or 31, when his body was discovered.
Jackson was found lying naked in his bed inside Room No. 808 on the afternoon of August 31. Housekeeping staff discovered the body, prompting panic among hotel employees. Senior staff advised colleagues to avoid discussing the matter and to ignore calls from the media.
Around 12:30 p.m. on the same day, three US embassy officials, including a woman, reached the hotel and instructed staff not to speak to anyone about the incident.
Embassy personnel later cordoned off Jackson’s room with blue and yellow tapes, brought in their own security and medical staff, and removed his body at around 6:30 p.m., along with several suitcases and personal belongings.
The embassy has yet to issue an official statement, despite repeated queries. A questionnaire by the media sent on September 4 received no response.
The episode has been clouded by conflicting claims. Northeast News initially reported that Jackson was serving as Command Inspector General for the US Army’s 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and planned to retire within two years.
His LinkedIn profile showed that he had served more than 20 years in the US Army, with multiple deployments across Asia, and listed his current role as Special Forces Officer, or 18A.
However, following that report, a spokesperson for the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) emailed on September 1 to deny the claim, stating that the “individual in question” was alive and in the US. “This misinformation is harmful to the individual and could certainly result in unnecessary attention in his personal life,” the spokesperson wrote.
Later, on September 4, US Army Special Operations Command’s Public Affairs Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Allie Scott, issued a formal statement requesting a correction.
“All currently serving personnel who are assigned to the US Army Special Operations Command are accounted for and present. We have no ongoing operations in Dhaka and therefore do not have any authority to comment on the reported death. We would defer your request for details and virtual conference to the US Embassy in Dhaka,” Scott wrote.
Curiously, Jackson’s LinkedIn profile was altered shortly after the initial report, with sensitive details about his current military role deleted. It could not be independently verified whether Jackson himself, or another party, made the changes.
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Bangladeshi sources confirmed that US Special Forces officers had been in the country for several months, providing military-related training. One Westin staff member recalled seeing “five to six” US officers in uniform at the hotel lobby a week before Jackson’s death.
While Dhaka Police maintained Jackson was a businessman, evidence accessed shows otherwise.
Photographs reportedly depict him conducting training sessions with Bangladeshi Army personnel while wearing Nine Line apparel, a clothing brand founded by a former US Special Forces officer. Some of the American soldiers were linked to the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the ‘Night Stalkers’.
Bangladesh Army headquarters is aware of the presence of US officers in Dhaka and Sylhet, according to multiple government sources, though the Inter-Services Public Relations wing has not commented.
The mystery deepens further with reports that at least one other US Special Forces officer remains in Bangladesh, engaged in similar activities. Evidence suggests that he continues to maintain contact with Bangladeshi Army officers through social media and messaging platforms.
Despite the denials from Washington, multiple sources and available evidence point to Jackson as an active US Special Forces (Airborne) officer whose mission in Bangladesh was classified.
Beyond his military career, Jackson had personal passions. Friends in Arizona remembered him as an avid enthusiast of radio-controlled aircraft. Many of his fellow hobbyists posted tributes online, mourning his sudden passing.
For now, the death of Terrence Arvelle Jackson remains surrounded by secrecy and unanswered questions — with two starkly different narratives from Dhaka and Washington.
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