The Navy’s USS Vandegrift, based in San Diego, has entered the 4th Fleet area of responsibility in support of Operation Martillo.
Operation Martillo, Spanish for hammer, a joint operation involving U.S., European and Western Hemisphere partners, targets illicit trafficking routes in the waters off Central America. Southern Command leads the U.S. military involvement in Joint Operation Task Force-South.
The crew of the Vandegrift, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate, received widespread attention in April when they aided in the rescue of a family that had been attempting a worldwide cruise on a sailboat.
Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 402, deployed aboard the Vandegrift, is supported by Vandegrift’s Visit, Board, Search and Seizure team and Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light Squadron 49 Detachment 3.
The U.S. contribution to Operation Martillo includes U.S. Navy and Coast Guard aircraft and ships working together to deny transnational criminal organizations the ability to export illegal narcotics along the Central American coastline.
Operation Martillo is a critical part of the U.S. government’s support of the White House Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime and the U.S. Central America Regional Security Initiative.
– From a Navy news release
