MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US launches “Operation Southern Spear” against narco-terrorists

US acting on Trump's orders, Hegseth noted

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the formal launch of Operation Southern Spear on Thursday, a major military offensive led by the Southern Command (Southcom) aimed at “eliminating narco-terrorists from our hemisphere.”

The announcement formalizes an aggressive counter-narcotics campaign that has already included lethal strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in at least 80 fatalities since early September.

“Today I announce Operation Southern Spear... to eliminate narco-terrorists from our hemisphere and protect our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” Hegseth wrote on social media. He added that the “War Department” was “complying” with a direct order from President Donald Trump.

The operation, which combines Southcom with a newly unveiled Joint Task Force Southern Spear, involves the deployment of surface ships, surveillance drones, and specialized naval units near the international waters of Venezuela, Colombia, and Central America.

The military campaign is widely viewed by regional officials and analysts as a tool of military pressure against the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro, which the White House accuses of enabling drug trafficking.

The escalation was highlighted by the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, to the Caribbean this week. Its presence near Venezuelan territorial waters coincided with the US military's 20th lethal strike against a drug boat earlier this week, which killed four people.

Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López responded with a “massive mobilization” of troops and civilians, showcasing combined military exercises involving air, naval, and missile systems to “confront imperialist threats.”

In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro, recently sanctioned by the US, first suspended and then conditioned intelligence sharing with Washington on the guarantee of human rights.

Additionally, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her country's Navy would intercept suspicious vessels in international waters near the country to prevent US attacks in the area.

In this scenario, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while ruling out sending ground troops to Mexico or taking “unilateral actions” in that country, defended the move as a necessary component of the fight against narco-terrorism networks.