US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced a military operation against “narcoterrorists” amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela and strikes on alleged cartel vessels.
Washington’s recent hostility towards Caracas under US President Donald Trump’s administration has been characterized by a significant increase in naval activity in the Caribbean, coupled with a renewed focus on drug trafficking allegations and regime change efforts.
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“Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” Hegseth wrote on X Thursday.
“Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our hemisphere, and secures our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it,” he wrote.
Hegseth did not specify whether the operation would expand on the strikes against alleged cartel vessels in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea. Since September, the US has destroyed at least 20 boats,
Citing unnamed US officials, CNN reported that the US Southern Command had briefed President Donald Trump on target options inside Venezuela as part of Operation Southern Spear. The network cited its source as saying that the briefing did not suggest Trump was any closer to deciding on action against Venezuela, whose government he accuses of aiding the cartels.
The US imposed sweeping sanctions on Caracas during Trump’s first term and placed a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The US has dispatched a naval armada, including the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, to the region, while Venezuela put its army on alert.
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Maduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and warned the US against starting a “crazy war.” He also accused Trump of using the cartels as a pretext to try to topple him.
With additional input by GVS US and Intl desk