# Smashing the Cartels: The 22nd MEU’s Secret War in the Caribbean

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/stories-of-special-forces-operators-4000852/smashing-the-cartels-the-22nd-meu-s-secret-war-in-the-caribbean
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/stories-of-special-forces-operators-4000852/smashing-the-cartels-the-22nd-meu-s-secret-war-in-the-caribbean.md
Podcast: [Stories of Special Forces Operators](https://stenobird.com/podcast/stories-of-special-forces-operators-4000852)
Published: 2026-07-06T09:57:02+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/smashing-the-cartels-the-22nd-meu-s-secret-war-in-the-caribbean--72830718
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72830718/podcast_1783280420.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/stories-of-special-forces-operators-4000852/episodes/smashing-the-cartels-the-22nd-meu-s-secret-war-in-the-caribbean
Duration seconds: 294

## Resource

In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of a historic, grinding 10-month deployment that just wrapped up in our own backyard. The heavily armed Marines and Sailors of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) just returned home after spearheading Operation Southern Spear under U.S. Southern Command. We break down the stark reality of how these amphibious forces took the fight directly to heavily armed transnational narco-terrorist networks, guarded our southern approaches, and changed the rules of engagement in the Western Hemisphere.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/stories-of-special-forces-operators-4000852/episodes/smashing-the-cartels-the-22nd-meu-s-secret-war-in-the-caribbean/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/stories-of-special-forces-operators-4000852/smashing-the-cartels-the-22nd-meu-s-secret-war-in-the-caribbean.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.