A US Marine who fell overboard from an attack ship in the Caribbean has become the first known American casualty in the Trump administration’s operation targeting drug-trafficking boats.
Lance Cpl Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, whose parents were Nigerians, fell from the USS Iwo Jima on 7 February and was lost at sea.
He was pronounced dead after a lengthy search, which ended 10 February.
His death was announced on Wednesday and remains under investigation by the military.
The Florida native was assisting Operation Southern Spear, which has carried out 38 lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September.
It played a key role in the capture of Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro.
A statement from the US Marines contained no details regarding how he may have fallen from the ship.
“We are all grieving alongside the Oforah family,” said Col Tom Trimble, commanding officer of the Marine Expeditionary Unit known as Special Operations Capable.
“The loss of Lance Cp. Oforah is deeply felt across the entire Navy-Marine Corps team. He will be profoundly missed, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten.”
A news release from the military branch said the sprawling search for Oforah involved five ships and 10 aircraft.
The USS Iwo Jima was used to transport Maduro after his capture in a US raid. Maduro’s capture came after weeks of a military build-up in the region, along with frequent strikes on vessels that the Trump administration said were carrying drugs headed for the US.
The pace of the strikes has notably ebbed since US forces in early January captured Maduro – who has been accused by the Trump administration of working with drug trafficking groups.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said Operation Southern Spear is aimed at removing “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere” and securing the US from “the drugs that are killing our people”.
But some legal experts have said the strikes could be illegal and violate international law by targeting civilians, with no due process afforded to the suspects.
US officials have faced bipartisan scrutiny over a follow-up strike – or “double-tap” – on 2 September that targeted an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in the Caribbean Sea.
The families of two Trinidadian men killed in the 14 October strike have since filed a lawsuit against the American government, alleging the strike amounted to “lawless killings in cold blood; killings for sport and killings for theatre”. [BBC excluding headline]
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