🚨Update: Operation Against Narco Terrorist Begins!!

“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 Homeland from the drugs… pic.twitter.com/ZXZRsuOl20

— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) November 14, 2025

Hegseth Announces Operation Southern Spear in "America's Neighborhood"

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced Operation Southern Spear, which he said will target "narco-terrorists" and shield "our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people."

The intrigue: It's not entirely clear whether Hegseth has attached a new label to the ongoing U.S. operations near Venezuela and beyond, or whether this is the starting gun for a new, expanded mission.

The U.S. is massing warships — including the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford — in and around the Caribbean.
Strikes on alleged drug-running boats have so far killed at least 80 people, and President Trump has made clear he's considering operations on land.
Senior military officials on Wednesday presented Trump with "updated options" for attacking Venezuela but no verdict was reached, CBS reported.
Zoom in: Southern Spear will be led in part by Southern Command, which oversees military action across Central and South America and in the surrounding waters.

The head of SOUTHCOM, Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, is expected to retire in mid-December, roughly one year into the job and years ahead of schedule.
Holsey was reportedly moving more cautiously than Hegseth wanted. Democrats have raised questions about the legality of the boat strikes.

The bottom line: "The Western Hemisphere is America's neighborhood — and we will protect it," Hegseth wrote on X.

Source:
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/14/hegseth-southern-spear-venezuela-caribbean

(So far no reports of any attacks on Venezuela or invasions of any kind.GE)

https://youtu.be/jUKW-sdGW-M?si=0HrsvHVO9qQKcZUb