Marine Leaders of The Americas Conference (MLAC) 2025

Marines with Detachment Martillo talk to one another while setting up communication equipment on the Fuerza Espesciales Naval’s 32-foot Boston Whaler Justice boats. The FEN is a section of the Guatemalan Navy special operations. The Marines with the detachment have been working with the FEN and other units within the Guatemalan military over recent weeks to coordinate for their part in Operation Martillo. Detachment Martillo, under operational control of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, is comprised of a number of units from II Marine Expeditionary Force. Operation Martillo is an operation led by Joint-Interagency Task Force-South, of the U.S. Southern Command, and is designed to help stem the flow of narcotics through Central America and its Pacific and Caribbean coasts by denying transnational criminal organizations littorals used for illicit trafficking. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo//Released)