Pentagon Confirms 1st Troop Death In Drug Boat Targeting Operation Southern Spear

In the first publicly disclosed military death related to America’s ongoing ‘Southern Spear’ operation to disrupt the Caribbean and Latin American drug smuggling network, a Marine with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit died after falling overboard USS Iwo Jima, the Marine Corps has confirmed..

Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka Oforah, 21, of Florida, fell overboard Feb. 7, the a II Marine Expeditionary Force said in a press release.

The USS Iwo Jima, US Navy/Getty Images

Oforah is the first service member whose death was publicly announced as part of the huge US naval Caribbean build-up since last Fall, which enforced an embargo on sanctioned tankers coming in and out of Venezuela, and which is now doing the same for Cuba, with an eye on ‘illicit’ Russian and Chinese shadow fleet tankers as well.

The Marines officially declared him deceased Tuesday after a three-day search. Oforah has been identified as an infantry rifleman who was deployed to the Battalion Landing Team 3/6, 22nd MEU (SOC).

“We are all grieving alongside the Oforah family,” 22nd MEU (SOC) commanding officer Col. Tom Trimble stated. “The loss of Lance Cpl. Oforah is deeply felt across the entire Navy-Marine Corps team. He will be profoundly missed, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten.”

The circumstances of his death are focus of an ongoing Pentagon investigation, and no other details have been released. The rescue and recovery operation, before he was declared officially “lost at sea”, were extensive, per US Navy sources:

Five Navy ships, a rigid-hull inflatable boat and 10 aircraft – including six helicopters – from the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force were involved in the search, according to the release.

The six helicopters were two Navy MH-60 Sierras, two Navy MH-60 Romeos, one Marine Corps AH-IZ Viper and one UH-IY Venom. A Navy P-8 Poseidon, two Air Force HC-130J Combat King IIs and an Air Force MQ-9 Reaper were part of the search effort.

The January 3rd major US incursion into Venezuela to nab longtime Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reportedly resulted in no American deaths; however, there were widespread reports that a helicopter was hit by a ground-fired missile, which injured a crewmember who survived the ordeal.

This also comes amid news that two US warships collided during a refueling operation in the same waters: two injuries…

🚨 Marine Declared Dead After Falling Overboard from USS Iwo Jima in Caribbean; 2 Injured in Separate Ship Collision

A U.S. Marine assigned to the USS Iwo Jima fell overboard in the Caribbean Sea on Feb. 7 and has been declared dead after a 72-hour search failed, the military… pic.twitter.com/zegEpgpVHR

— SafetySwipe (@SafetyNotorious) February 12, 2026

According to the Pentagon press release of the lost Marine, “He completed the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. At the time of his death, he was deployed with Battalion Landing Team 3/6, 22nd MEU (SOC), aboard the USS Iwo Jima. The circumstances surrounding the incident are currently under investigation. An official photo of Lance Cpl. Oforah is not available.”