War Secretary Pete Hegseth says a taskforce has been set up to fight \u201cnarco-terrorists\u201d in the Western Hemisphere<\/p>\n
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced a military operation against \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela and strikes on alleged cartel vessels.
\nWashington\u2019s recent hostility towards Caracas under US President Donald Trump\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cToday, I\u2019m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,\u201d Hegseth wrote on X Thursday.
\n\u201cLed 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\u2019s neighborhood\u00a0\u2013 and we will protect it,\u201d he wrote.
\nHegseth 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, killing an estimated 80 people.<\/p>\n
President Trump ordered action \u2014 and the Department of War is delivering.Today, I\u2019m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and @SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our\u2026\u2014 Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 13, 2025 <\/p>\n
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.\u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Pentagon top brass offer Trump new military options for Venezuela \u2013 CBS<\/p>\n
The US imposed sweeping sanctions on Caracas during Trump\u2019s 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.
\nMaduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and warned the US against starting a \u201ccrazy war.\u201d He also accused Trump of using the cartels as a pretext to try to topple him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
War Secretary Pete Hegseth says a taskforce has been set up to fight \u201cnarco-terrorists\u201d in the Western Hemisphere US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced a military operation against…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t