U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced a new operation targeting “drug trafficking networks” amid rising tensions with Venezuela.
“President Donald Trump has ordered action, and the Department of War is ready. Today, I am announcing Operation Southern Spear,” Hegseth wrote on social media platform X on November 13. “This mission aims to protect our nation, dismantle drug-running networks, and prevent narcotics from destroying our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood — and we will defend it.”
Hegseth did not clarify whether the operation would extend to strikes on vessels allegedly belonging to drug cartels in international waters in the Caribbean.
Since September, the U.S. has destroyed at least 20 vessels it claimed were transporting narcotics, resulting in 76 deaths. On November 13, CBS News reported that senior Pentagon officials had briefed President Trump on potential military actions against Venezuela — a country Trump has accused of harboring drug-trafficking networks.
Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine were among those who presented new options to the President, including airstrikes on unspecified targets across Venezuela.
Last month, President Trump ordered naval forces to deploy to the Caribbean, hinting that he might authorize airstrikes.
In response, Venezuela placed its military on high alert and launched exercises involving multiple branches of its armed forces.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denied Trump’s allegations of drug-trafficking networks, claiming Washington is “fabricating a pretext to ignite a new conflict.”
“We are ready to defend the Fatherland on every terrain and under any circumstances,” Maduro said on November 12 as he posted photos from the latest military drills.