WASHINGTON.– A United States Marine died after falling overboard from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, officials said this week, marking the first death of a service member reported since the deployment began in Caribbean waters last year, and the second incident in the region in recent days
Lance Corporal Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, a Florida native, fell from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima on Saturday, the Marine Corps infantry announced in a press release.
The military deployed five Navy ships, ten aircraft and an Air Force Reaper drone in a “72‑hour search‑and‑rescue operation,” the statement said, but he was not found and was declared dead on Tuesday.
It is the first publicly announced death of a U.S. Service member during the United States’ military operation in the region. The incident remains under military investigation.
“We are grieving alongside the Oforah family,” Colonel Tom Trimble, commander of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, said. “The loss of Lance Corporal Oforah is deeply felt by the entire Navy and Marine Corps team. We will miss him profoundly and his dedication to service will not be forgotten.”
According to Fox News, Oforah was an infantry rifleman. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in October 2023 and graduated from Parris Island in February 2024. He completed the Marine Corps School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. He was deployed as part of what the Donald Trump administration calls “Operación Lanza del Sur,” a Caribbean campaign against drug trafficking that was pivotal to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
The Iwo Jima played a specific role that day during the U.S. Incursion in Caracas. It was aboard this ship that the ousted president and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from Venezuela’s coast, according to the first photo Trump shared of the leader, accused of drug trafficking, in Recent York after his removal.
The Trump administration has deployed a large naval force in the Caribbean since August 2025, but U.S. Casualties in the region have been rare. The White House began in September a series of military strikes against small vessels it said were used for drug trafficking, as well as seizing oil tankers. Attacks on alleged “narco‑rafts”—which have already totaled 38 and caused more than 100 deaths—declined after Maduro’s capture.
Separately, U.S. Southern Command announced Thursday that the destroyer USS Truxtun and the supply ship USNS Supply collided while the warship was receiving fuel.
The replenishment maneuver typically involves vessels sailing side‑by‑side at a distance of several dozen meters while fuel and supplies are transferred via hoses and cables.
The collision occurred as the supply ship was refueling the cruiser USS Gettysburg on one side and Truxtun approached from the other, a U.S. Official familiar with the incident said on condition of anonymity, noting the mishap is under investigation.
Southern Command said two service members sustained minor injuries and were reported to be in stable condition. Both vessels continued underway without issue.
