Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, has declared a new military campaign to combat armed groups in Latin America that are connected to drugs.
According to reports, there are growing worries that Washington’s growing naval presence in the area could lead to ground strikes and turn into a wider battle.
On Thursday, November 13, Hegseth announced the start of Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR in a message posted on his official 𝕏 Twitter. According to Hegseth, the mission’s goals are to defend the US homeland and eradicate terror organizations in the Western Hemisphere that are motivated by drugs.
“Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” Hegseth stated in his succinct statement. This goal protects our country from the drugs that are murdering our people, eliminates narco-terrorists from our hemisphere, and defends our country.
However, the Defense Secretary withheld information about the operation’s specifics, the extent of US participation, and how it would be different from current military operations.
When questioned about the mission’s goals, a Pentagon official directed reporters back to the same social media post.
According to reports, the government of President Donald Trump has been conducting a massive military campaign against drugs in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, using air and naval resources to blockade ships connected to drug gangs.
US data shows that since early September, US forces had attacked roughly 20 ships in the region’s international waters, killing at least 76 people.
The latest statement coincides with analysts cautioning that a larger US military presence may indicate plans to become more involved in South American crises.
Senior US military officials recently gave President Trump revised options for potential operations in Venezuela, including land-based military strikes, according to a CBS News report on Wednesday.
Concerns that Operation Southern Spear might be a part of a larger strategic change that expands Washington’s engagement from marine interdictions to direct attack on Venezuelan territory have been raised by the study.
Venezuela declared what it called a significant nationwide military mobilization on Tuesday in response to the escalating US naval presence close to its coastline.
According to Naija News, the United States just moved six more Navy ships, F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico, and an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean.
Caracas claims that Washington’s activities, especially the carrier group movement, are a part of a clandestine scheme to topple the administration of President Nicolás Maduro.
The new US mission, according to Venezuelan officials, is an escalation meant to pave the way for regime change.
Regional commentators caution that Operation Southern Spear might spark one of the worst hemispheric security crises in decades if tensions increase and both sides’ armies adopt a more assertive stance.
A formal operational brief or schedule for the new mission has not yet been released by the US, though.
