President Donald Trump’s Department of War (DOW) announced Thursday evening it would launch Operation Southern Spear to crack down on drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wrote on X that the operation seeks to remove “narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere” and secure “our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.” The operation comes after the DOW in recent weeks carried out strikes on suspected “narco boats” that allegedly trafficked deadly drugs off the coast of Venezuela.
“President Trump ordered action — and the Department of War is delivering,” Hegseth added in his post. “The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.”
The secretary also specified in his post that the military mission is to be led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), a Miami-based unified combatant command of the DOW responsible for U.S. military activity in the Caribbean as well as Central and South America.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and its strike group arrived in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility on Tuesday, just two days before Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear, the U.S. Navy announced. The Pentagon in late October authorized the carrier strike group to be sent to Latin America.
President Trump ordered action — and the Department of War is delivering.
Today, I’m 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…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 13, 2025
Should the U.S. military continue Operation Southern Spear against drug traffickers?
When asked for comment, the DOW referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to Hegseth’s X post as well as SOUTHCOM’s Oct. 10 press release announcing the creation of a Joint Task Force (JTF) Southern Spear, to “synchronize and augment counter-narcotics efforts across the Western Hemisphere.”
“The JTF will report directly to SOUTHCOM,” the press release stated. “Its creation underscores SOUTHCOM’s commitment to a whole-of-government, multinational approach to defeat and dismantle criminal networks that exploit our shared borders and maritime domains.”
The military executed its 20th attack on alleged narco boats involving lethal force Monday, multiple outlets reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources from the Pentagon.
The Senate on Nov. 6 failed to stop Trump from conducting strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean without approval from Congress. The War Powers Resolution, introduced by Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and cosponsored by Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, fell nine votes short of the 60 required to break the Senate’s filibuster.
Left-wing Colombian President Gustavo Petro told Trump on Sunday to not “attack the condor,” in reference to strikes on cartel boats, warning that if the U.S. president continues to do so, “the American people’s jaguar awakens.” Colombia is well known for being the country that produces the most cocaine in the world.
Meanwhile, Trump said in October that Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro had unsuccessfully offered the United States a stake in his country’s oil projects in exchange for the U.S. military ending its strikes on alleged narcotics-carrying vessels. The U.S. president told reporters that Maduro made the offer because he “doesn’t want to fuck around with the United States.”
The DOW did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. SOUTHCOM was unable to be reached for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Department of Defense)
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