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The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States assumed its mission in the Caribbean this Friday under the designation of Littoral Combat Force-24 (LCF-24), relieving the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit as the tactical first response force within the area of responsibility of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).
According to the official statement from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the force is made up of more than 1,300 marines and sailors organized as a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), deployed from Puerto Rico and operational under the command of Colonel Ryan Lynch.
LCF-24 is directly subordinate to the Maritime Component Command of the Joint Force and to Joint Task Group 84-2, in support of Operation Southern Spear, the broadest military campaign of Southcom in the Caribbean in recent decades.
"The Marines and sailors of LCF-24 are positioned to carry out all the sets of missions prescribed by our higher command; to deter the threats facing our hemisphere today," Colonel Lynch stated.
The amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale serves as a naval platform exclusively assigned to the MAGTF, and on May 22, it conducted a full maritime interdiction operation exercise from the Caribbean Sea using a UH-1Y Venom helicopter.
Unlike a conventional amphibious deployment, LCF-24 is designed for distributed operations along the Caribbean coast, combining land nodes with naval platforms to maximize its rapid maneuverability.
Among its certified missions are rapid reaction operations, embassy reinforcement, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, disaster relief support, and maritime interdiction against illicit trafficking and narcoterrorist networks.
The lieutenant general Calvert L. Worth, commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Corps, emphasized the strategic importance of the relief: "Our success in Operation Southern Spear depends on our ability to overcome and surpass the illicit networks that threaten the region. LCF-24 provides the exact combination of precision and interoperability that we need."
The Southern Spear Operation was launched on January 28, 2025, as a maritime surveillance operation and formally expanded on November 13, 2025, by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as a campaign against narco-terrorism. Under the Trump administration, the operation has escalated into lethal kinetic strikes against vessels linked to drug trafficking, with reports of over 190 casualties among suspected drug traffickers by early May 2026.
The deployment has direct implications for Cuba, Venezuela, and other regional actors, as USSOUTHCOM has explicitly stated that the operation aims to deter "hostile state actors" and dismantle networks operating with state sponsorship. The Southern Command showcases its operations in the Caribbean as a direct message to Havana.
The General Francis L. Donovan, commander of USSOUTHCOM, was emphatic: "The Western Hemisphere is no longer a permissive environment for narco-terrorists, criminal syndicates, or their state sponsors. With LCF-24 in command of tactical operations, we are sending a clear message: the United States is committed to defending our homeland and ensuring a prosperous and stable hemisphere."
The cost of the military deployment in the Caribbean was estimated at approximately 3 billion dollars in February 2026, reflecting the unprecedented scale of the U.S. military presence in the region.
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