U.S. Army Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this Thursday: Military operation called “Southern Spear” The plan is related to Washington’s fight against drug trafficking originating in Latin America and comes at a time of increased pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration on Venezuela.
in messages on social networks This includes U.S. military operations in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Although not specified, it is understood that the name “Lanza South” could encompass the large military deployment the United States has maintained in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela since this summer.
Hegseth’s announcement came days after the USS Gerald Ford, America’s largest and most sophisticated aircraft carrier, and its strike group arrived in the Southern Caribbean. The strike group joins a deployment of destroyers or amphibious landing ships that Washington has maintained in the area since mid-August.
This military deployment Threats against Venezuelan President Nicolas MaduroThe White House called it “illegal,” and the Pentagon immediately destroyed 20 ships in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific waters ( Approximately 70 residents were killed.), which Washington assures is the ship transporting fentanyl to the United States.
“President Trump ordered the action and the Department of the Army is following it,” Hegseth said in a message. “This mission is to protect our homeland. banish narco-terrorists from our hemisphere And let’s protect our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.
“The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood, and we will protect it,” the message concludes.
Attacks in the Pacific and Caribbean and Denial of the United Nations
Under claims of combating drug trafficking, President Donald Trump’s administration has escalated attacks on Latin American cartels it considers terrorists and has declared “direct armed conflict.”
Since August, the US military has stepped up operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, sending troops and warships to the region. In September, the Washington government began attacking boats because they were linked to drug trafficking, and to date sank at least 20 boats and killed 75 people people who were traveling by boat.
For the past three days, the U.S. military deployment has included the Pentagon’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its entire strike group, including more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft.
Washington also sends ground forces to PanamaThis is the first time in more than 20 years that the US military has deployed conventional troops to the country. Both the United States and Panama deny the move has anything to do with operations in the Caribbean, where official reports say more than 76,000 pounds of drugs have been seized.
Venezuela reacts to ‘threat’
With this military deployment, strained relations between Washington and Colombia President Gustavo Petro was accused by President Trump of being a “drug trafficker” and was subject to economic sanctions in response. Peter rejected the attack on the boat, calling it an “extrajudicial execution.”
But Trump’s main focus is on Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro, whom he accuses of leading the Sands cartel and exporting drugs to the United States.
President Maduro denounced the “threat” of the US military presence near his country’s coasts and vowed to facilitate “regime change” and meet the White House’s desire to remove Chavismo from power.
The President of Venezuela called on the people: Prepare for the final “armed struggle” He ordered the establishment of a defense command consisting of citizens, soldiers, and civil servants.
It also announced that it would deploy 200,000 troops and “mobilize land, air, sea, river, and missile means” to counter the United States.
Opposition leader Maria Colina Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, said on Wednesday: “Defining time” of “historical moment”has called for a “peaceful transition” in Venezuela without explicitly mentioning a U.S. attack, further fueling rumors of a possible direct U.S. attack.
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