WASHINGTON, November 14. /TASS/. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the United States are launching Operation Southern spear to combat drug cartels.
"Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR," Hegseth said on X, adding it will be led by the Southern Command of the US army, whose area of operational responsibility includes Central and South America, the Caribbean region, and as well as a joint force specially created for this operation. "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’s neighborhood - and we will protect it."
CBS earlier said quoting sources that Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Dan Caine on Wednesday presented Trump with a report on measures against Venezuela that could be taken by the US military "in the coming days" without providing details. The Pentagon, in response to a request from TASS, declined to comment on this publication. White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the United States intends to continue using force, aimed, according to her, at suppressing drug trafficking in the Caribbean region.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that a strike group of American ships led by aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford had entered the area of operational responsibility of the Southern Command of the US Armed Forces to combat drug smuggling. On November 1, The Washington Post reported that the United States was building up a group of troops off the coast of Venezuela to combat drug trafficking. It said this group includes eight warships, a nuclear submarine and a special purpose vessel.
According to CNN estimates, the US army has destroyed about 20 boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months under the pretext of combating drug smuggling and killed almost 80 people. After at least one of these strikes, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the American operation had killed a fisherman, not a drug dealer, from his country.
Washington accuses Venezuela of not actively fighting drug smuggling. According to The New York Times, Trump allowed the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. The American media has repeatedly reported that the United States may soon begin attacking drug cartel facilities in Venezuela. However, on October 31, Trump said he was not considering attacks on Venezuelan territory.