Pentagon Gives U.S. Marine Corps the Job of Tracking Drug Boats

 

The Pentagon has ordered the creation of a new anti-smuggling Joint Task Force (JTF) within U.S. Southern Command. The new organization will be commanded by II Marine Expeditionary Force, and will perform a role similar to that of the Coast Guard-led Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S). The effect on JIATF-S' operations was not disclosed.

“Our team is trained, equipped, and ready to lead this Joint Task Force,” said Lt. Gen. Calvert Worth, Commanding General, II MEF and designated JTF Commander. “This is principally a maritime effort, and our team will leverage maritime patrols, aerial surveillance, precision interdictions, and intelligence sharing to counter illicit traffic, uphold the rule of law, and ultimately better protect vulnerable communities here at home.” 

The new JTF's role will include airborne surveillance, drug shipment detection, intelligence fusion among U.S. and partner nation agencies, joint training, and advising and working with partner nations' counternarcotics units. 

The Trump administration has recently begun using lethal strikes to destroy suspected smuggling boats in the Caribbean, despite certain internal concerns. II MEF has elements currently deployed in the Caribbean in support of counter-narcotics operations, and with the creation of the JTF, it now has drug boat tracking operations within its own command structure. Moving the tracking and interdiction mission under the Marine Corps could also suggest an intention to militarize the anti-cocaine operation off Latin America for the long term.

In a statement, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said that the new JTF's mission was "to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe. The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold."