The U.S. Defense Department has begun moving more than 4,000 Marines and sailors—roughly 4,500, according to Navy figures—to the waters surrounding Latin America and the Caribbean, intensifying President Donald Trump’s declared campaign against regional drug cartels. The deployment centers on the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, a force that includes the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale. Defense officials said the task force is accompanied by a nuclear-powered attack submarine, P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several guided-missile destroyers and a cruiser, and falls under U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. Pentagon sources described the move as a show of force that provides commanders—and the president—with a broad menu of military options against organizations Washington designates as narcoterrorists. The repositioning follows Trump’s public willingness to employ the military against cartels he says threaten U.S. national security. Reaction in the region has been mixed. Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the buildup as a threat to Latin American sovereignty, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the mission aims to disrupt networks such as Venezuela’s alleged Cartel de los Soles. Parallel to the naval action, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unveiled “Proyecto Portero,” a training and intelligence program with Mexican authorities designed to dismantle cartel operatives who control fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine routes along the Southwest border, highlighting a broader, multi-agency push against trafficking.