Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced this Thursday the start of a US military operation to “drive narco-terrorists” from the Western Hemisphere.
“President Trump ordered us to act, and the Department of the Army is complying. Today, I am announcing Operation Southern Lance,” the Pentagon chief wrote in a message on his old Twitter account, “X.” Hegseth did not specify what exactly he was referring to. If only to name, or if a new phase is beginning, the extrajudicial military offensive operations against suspected drug smuggling carried out by their armed forces in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
“This mission, led by Joint Task Force Southern Lanza and Southern Command, will protect our homeland, drive narco-terrorists from the hemisphere, and protect our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood, and we will protect it,” he said without elaborating.
Mr. Hegseth’s announcement came just three days after the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest and the most modern in the U.S. fleet, arrived in U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ship and its escort group will join a convoy already deployed in international waters at the limits of Venezuela’s territorial waters.
His arrival had fueled speculation that Trump could order the start of a new phase of the U.S. military operation against alleged drug cartels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, which could include direct attacks on targets inside Venezuelan territory.
This Thursday, Pentagon officials reported a new attack on an alleged drug smuggling ship in the Caribbean. This is the 20th time since the extrajudicial operations campaign began in September. Among them, US forces killed 80 civilians.
On Wednesday, Mr. Hegseth and his chief of staff, Dan Cain, were in charge of the intelligence briefing that the U.S. president receives every Wednesday. In it, they briefed Trump on various options for military operations.
The US government claims the campaign aims to combat drug trafficking, which claims tens of thousands of lives each year in its territory. However, many experts and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro himself believe that the true purpose of the operation is to force regime change in the Caribbean country.
In a statement to CNN during the street intervention, the Venezuelan president sent a message to Americans: “Let’s unite for peace on the continent. No more endless wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya, no Afghanistan.” Asked by a journalist if he should send a direct message to President Trump, Maduro replied: “Yes, peace.”
(Breaking news. Update will be made soon)
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