Marines vs. Zetas: U.S. Troops Deployed to Monitor Local Drug Cartel, Halt Guatemalan Narcotics Trafficking

The United States has deployed nearly 200 Marines to Guatemala as part of a counter-narcotics operation against the local Zeta drug cartel, dubbed "Operacion Martillo" (Operation Hammer).

Operacion Martillo commenced in January of this year, focusing mainly on drug trafficking throughout the Gulf of Honduras. Phase Two, which is estimated to last for approximately 120 days, will direct attention specifically toward the Zetas, whose operations run mainly along the Guatemalan-Mexican border. The operation is a collaborative effort between American, Latin American and European security forces.

The Marines will be responsible for searching out and monitoring suspected drug traffickers from the sky, using a fleet of four UH-1N Huey helicopters. It's unknown whether or not the Marines have been authorized for on-land pursuit. What is clear, however, is that although the Marines have been equipped with weaponry they are not allowed to fire their guns except in self-defense.

The Marines' prime responsibility is to seek out "suspicious" boats and then direct their Guatemalan counterparts to pursue these leads - seizing any drugs found and taking traffickers into custody. The Marine Corps Times reports that these search missions will be held along both of Guatemala's coastlines and on rivers within the country.

Although Marines have been sent to Guatemala in the past, those missions were mainly focused on assisting in training Guatemalan troops, according to Wired Magazine's security blog "Danger Room."

"It's not every day you have [some 200] Marines going into a country in Central and South America aside from conducting training exercises," Staff Sergeant Earnest Barnes, public affairs chief for Marine Corps Forces South told Danger Room in an interview.

According to General Douglas Fraser of the U.S. military's Southern Command (SouthCom), as a result of Operacion Martillo drug seizures in the area have increased by approximately 30 percent. However, according to documents recently released by SouthCom, cocaine trafficking in Colombia is up over 50 percent since January, suggesting that these inter-governmental attempts to thwart the Central and South American drug trades may not be as effective as expected.