The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials told CNN — a dramatic show of force that will give the president a broad range of military options should he want to target drug cartels.

The deployment of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command, which has not been previously reported, is part of a broader repositioning of military assets to the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility that has been underway over the last three weeks, one of the officials said.

A nuclear-powered attack submarine, additional P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser are also being allocated to US Southern Command as part of the mission, the officials said.

A third person familiar with the matter said the additional assets are “aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.”

On Friday, the US Navy announced the deployment of the USS Iwo Jima, the 22nd MEU, and the two other ships in the Amphibious Ready Group — the USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS San Antonio — but did not say where they were going.

One of the officials emphasized that the military buildup is for now mostly a show of force, aimed more at sending a message than indicative of any intention to conduct precision targeting of cartels. But it also gives US military commanders — and the president — a broad range of options should Trump order military action. The ARG/MEU, for example, also features an aviation combat element.

The deployment of the Marine Expeditionary Unit, however, has raised concerns among some defense officials who worry that the Marines are not trained to conduct drug interdictions and counter drug-trafficking. If that is part of their mission set, they will have to lean heavily on the Coast Guard, officials said.

MEUs have been instrumental in the past in supporting large-scale evacuation operations; a MEU was stationed for months in the eastern Mediterranean, for example, amid tensions between Israel, Hamas and Iran.

A Marine official told CNN that the MEU “stands ready to execute lawful orders and support the combatant commanders in the needs that are requested of them.”

The US military deployed destroyers to the areas around the US-Mexico border in March to support US Northern Command’s border security mission and reinforce the US’ presence in the western hemisphere. The additional assets being moved now, however, will fall under US Southern Command, and are set to support SOUTHCOM for at least the next several months, one of the officials said.

CNN previously reported that a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year stated that the US military’s “foremost priority” is to defend the homeland, and instructed the Pentagon to “seal our borders, repel forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities, and deport illegal aliens in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.”

The same memo also formally asked Pentagon officials for “credible military options” to ensure unfettered American access to the Panama Canal, CNN reported at the time.

A federal judge in San Francisco seemed unconvinced after a three-day trial that the continued deployment of federalized members of California’s National Guard — who were originally deployed to Los Angeles in response to protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda — is lawful.

US District Judge Charles Breyer specifically questioned Justice Department attorneys on Wednesday on the issue of what limits exist to regulate the use of federal law enforcement to protect federal buildings and employees, as the DOJ alleges is the case with the nearly 300 remaining troops on the ground in California.

“Once you have a force in place, and maybe legitimately do so, and the threat that gave rise to the force in that place subsides, or is no longer of serious concern, what then?” Breyer asked a Justice Department attorney on Wednesday. “How does one look at this national police force, which goes out of where the threat was and starts executing other laws?”

The comments from Breyer came on the final day of a three-day bench trial about how several thousand members of California’s National Guard were used after Trump federalized them in June as dramatic protests unfolded in Los Angeles.

Breyer did not say when he will rule, but his comments Wednesday suggest some sympathy for arguments pushed by California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sued Trump in June to block the deployment.

“It’s not that I’m sitting here insensitive to the risk of federal employees,” Breyer, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, said. “I’m trying to see whether there are limits, any limits, to the use of federal force to ameliorate that risk.”

After scoring an initial win from Breyer in June, Newsom’s case took a significant hit when a federal appeals court said that Trump can maintain control of the federalized troops while the legal challenge plays out, ruling that the president likely acted lawfully.

But a major claim at the center of Newsom’s case remained unaddressed by the two courts: whether the troops violated the Posse Comitatus Act — a 19th century law prohibiting the use of the US military for domestic law enforcement — in the months since their initial deployment.

Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton argued that there is no mechanism or precedent to challenge the law that Trump used to deploy the National Guard members, but Breyer interrupted him to ask, “What is the likelihood that in England in 1776 there would be an action, law or remedy to restrain the king of England?”

Breyer expressed specific concern that the Justice Department’s logic would open the door to the deployment of federal officers everywhere that the president “determines that there is some threat to the safety of a federal agent.”

Later, an attorney for the state of California, Meghan Strong, addressed the judge’s questions about 1776, citing James Madison.

“What James Madison would have done, and what he did, was to draft a constitution that made sure that the president could never employ standing armies to control civilian life as the King had in 1776,” Strong said.

“And the Posse Comitatus Act is merely a statutory embodiment of a longstanding historical principle and policy in our nation against the use of the military in the way the federal government is using the military here in LA,” she added.

Since June, deployed troops have accompanied federal agents on immigration raids in the LA area and have temporarily detained civilians who tried to enter restricted areas.

Hamilton argued that the federalized guard and Marines were serving a “purely protective function” in California, something not barred by the Posse Comitatus Act.

But Breyer did not seem swayed by this, repeating his concern over the limits of federal law enforcement activity once it is already in place.

“What’s to prevent a national police force, if properly in place as a result of certain things that have happened on day one, to go out on day 10, day 20, day 30, month two, month three, month four and assist the execution of other laws for other crimes?” the judge asked. “Is there any limiting factor at all?”

US military deploying forces to southern Caribbean against drug groups

Trump Deploys 4,000 Troops To Southern Caribbean In Fight Against Cartels

The United States is deploying over 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters surrounding Latin America and the Caribbean as part of an intensified effort to combat drug cartels. According to two US defense officials, this deployment marks a significant show of force and provides President Trump with a range of military options to target these organizations.

The deployment includes the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which are being repositioned to the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility. Additional military assets such as a nuclear-powered attack submarine, P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers, and a guided-missile cruiser are also being allocated to the region.