The US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the operation, in post shared on his X on Thursday evening, stating it aims to defend the US homeland, remove narco-terrorists, and secure the country from drugs.
The United States of America has launched Operation Southern Spear, a military operation targeting "narco-terrorists" in the Western Hemisphere, amid escalating tensions with Venezuela.
The US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the operation, in post shared on his X on Thursday evening, stating it aims to defend the US homeland, remove narco-terrorists, and secure the country from drugs.
The operation is led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM.
“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 neighbourhood – and we will protect it,” he wrote.
https://x.com/SecWar/status/
However, Hegseth did not specify whether the operation would expand on the strikes against alleged cartel vessels in international waters of the Caribbean Sea.
This has raised questions on whether US is planning another invasion of country with the pretext of fighting 'narcotic' like it invented during the invasion of Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan among others.
Since September, the US has destroyed at least 20 alleged cartel vessels in international waters, killing 80 people.
The US Southern Command briefed President Donald Trump on target options inside Venezuela, but it's unclear if he will take further action.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has denied involvement in drug trafficking and warned the US against starting a "crazy war".
The US has imposed sanctions on Caracas and placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro. The US has also dispatched a naval armada, including the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, to the region.
Maduro has also accused Trump of using the cartels as a pretext to try to topple him.