Above photo: The USS Spruance leaves San Diego on Saturday.
The United States has deployed a second Navy warship to patrol waters near Mexico, reinforcing President Donald Trump’s directive to enhance border security.
The USS Spruance, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, set sail from Naval Base San Diego on Saturday. Its deployment follows that of the USS Gravely, which was recently dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico in response to Trump’s executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border.
General Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, stated that the Spruance’s mission includes combating maritime terrorism, weapons trafficking, transnational crime, piracy, environmental violations, and illegal seaborne immigration.
“With the Spruance positioned off the West Coast and the Gravely in the Gulf of America, we are demonstrating a coordinated, all-domain defense response in support of the Presidential Executive Order,” Guillot said. “Our objective is to establish full operational control of the border.”
Operating in both U.S. and international waters near the Mexico-U.S. border, the Spruance will be accompanied by a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) to aid in maritime interdiction missions. Similarly, the USS Gravely, based in Mayport, Florida, includes a Coast Guard detachment for the same purpose.
Newsweek described the deployment of two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for border security as an unprecedented show of naval force. These warships are designed for multi-mission combat, capable of engaging threats on, above, and below the surface. They typically operate independently or as part of larger naval task forces, such as carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups.
The USS Spruance recently returned from a five-month mission with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, where it operated in the Red Sea. The USS Gravely also served in the Red Sea last year, both ships playing key roles in countering Houthi rebel attacks on commercial and U.S. military vessels.
The decision to deploy naval assets for border security aligns with concerns that criminal organizations may increasingly exploit maritime routes as land border enforcement intensifies. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that drug traffickers are employing more sophisticated methods, including remote-operated submersibles, to smuggle narcotics into the United States.
Inter-agency and international collaboration are crucial to maritime interdiction efforts. According to Newsweek, previous joint operations between the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard successfully prevented nearly 15 tons of cocaine from entering the country last year alone.
By increasing naval patrols near Mexico, U.S. officials aim to deter smuggling operations and prevent maritime routes from becoming an alternative for criminal enterprises seeking to bypass border enforcement.