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Marines from the Combat Landing Force-24 (LCF-24) conducted a Full Mission Profile rehearsal for Maritime Interdiction Operation today aboard the amphibious ship USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) while navigating through the Caribbean Sea, as part of Operation Southern Spear.
The exercise, shared by the U.S. Marine Corps on social media, included fast rope descents from UH-1Y Venom helicopters to the ship's deck, with Marines equipped with night vision goggles, assault rifles, and tactical vests.
The Marine Corps specified that the forces are deployed in the area of responsibility of Southern Command "in support of Operation Southern Spear, operations led by the Department of Defense, and the president's priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking, deter hostile actors, and protect the homeland through a continuous presence."
The LCF-24, composed of more than 1,300 marines and sailors, took on its mission last Thursday, relieving the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit after nearly ten months of deployment.
Operates under the command of Colonel Ryan Lynch from the Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, which has been reactivated specifically for this deployment.
Lynch stated that his forces are "positioned to execute all sets of missions prescribed by our higher command levels; to deter the threats facing our hemisphere today."
Lieutenant General Calvert L. Worth, commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, emphasized that "the success of Operation Southern Spear depends on our ability to overcome and surpass the illicit networks that threaten the region."
The operation was launched on January 28, 2025, as a maritime surveillance mission and was formally expanded on November 13, 2025, by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as an anti-narcoterrorism campaign. From September 2025 to the present, it has carried out at least 62 airstrikes, destroying 63 vessels and causing more than 205 deaths among alleged drug traffickers.
The exercises are taking place amid a growing military tension near Cuba. In May, Southern Command deployed the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in the Caribbean and began planning exercises for contingency scenarios related to Cuba.
The general Francis L. Donovan, commander of the Southern Command, was categorical: "The Western Hemisphere is no longer a permissive environment for narcoterrorists, criminal syndicates, or their state sponsors."
The Cuban regime responded with a propaganda campaign from MINFAR as part of the "Year of Preparation for Defense 2026," with messages such as "War should not be provoked, but we will fight if the enemy imposes it", while Díaz-Canel invoked the doctrine of "War of All the People."
In the legislative arena, Congressional Democrats introduced a new initiative today to prevent Trump from taking military action against Cuba without legislative authorization, following the failure of a similar resolution that the Senate rejected by a vote of 51-47 on April 29.
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