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The United States Southern Command published images this Tuesday of the amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale navigating in the Caribbean Sea, as part of its communication campaign regarding the ongoing military presence in the region.
The photograph, taken from an aircraft, was captured on June 8, 2026, when the USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) completed an air-to-ground gunnery exercise alongside the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 365 (Reinforced), a unit that operates MV-22B Osprey aircraft and is part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (LCF-24).
Southern Command specified that the forces deployed in the Caribbean support Operation Southern Spear, led by the Department of Defense under orders from President Trump, with the stated aim of "disrupting drug trafficking and protecting the homeland through continuous presence."
The USS Fort Lauderdale serves as the main platform for the LCF-24, the operational designation of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, composed of over 1,300 Marines and sailors under the command of Colonel Ryan Lynch.
This force officially assumed its mission on May 29, 2026, replacing the 22nd Expeditionary Marine Unit after nearly ten months of continuous deployment in the Caribbean theater.
Operation Southern Spear was formally announced on November 13, 2025, by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, based on Executive Order 14157, which designated 12 major international cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and authorized the use of lethal force in international waters.
The publication from Southern Command comes just two days after the Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out an attack on a drug boat in the Caribbean, resulting in two dead and six survivors.
Since the beginning of the operation, Southern Command has recorded more than 62 attacks and over 208 dead accumulated, marking the largest U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
The total cost of the deployment is estimated to be around $3 billion, with peaks of up to $20 million per day, according to media estimates.
The operation involves more than 4,500 sailors and marines in total and has the support of the Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, reactivated in November 2025 with an investment of 79 million dollars to sustain missions in the region.
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