Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday on social media that the U.S. military’s expanding anti-drug mission in the Caribbean will now operate under the name “Operation Southern Spear.”
Why It Matters
The new name signals that the campaign is intended to be large-scale and long-term, not a short-term deployment. Launched this summer as part of the Trump administration’s effort to target narcoterrorism in the region, U.S. forces have already conducted at least 20 strikes on vessels in South American waters, killing at least 76 people, according to officials.
When asked for comment via email, a Pentagon spokesperson pointed to a press release from last month describing Joint Task Force “Southern Spear” and its “ongoing operations in the U.S. Southern Command region.”
Operation Southern Spear: What to Know
The operation will involve nearly a dozen Navy ships and around 12,000 sailors and Marines stationed in the region after the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.
The carrier group was ordered into the Caribbean on October 24 by Hegseth, who redirected it from the Mediterranean. The Pentagon has said the mission is to “detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors” along drug-trafficking routes stretching from the Pacific to the Caribbean. Still, the size of the deployment and its proximity to Venezuela have fueled speculation that Washington may have broader objectives.
U.S. officials have for years accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government of working with drug-trafficking groups and corrupt security forces—allegations Maduro has rejected as a pretext for the United States to undermine his rule. The current operations began in the southern Caribbean near Venezuela’s coast and have since shifted toward the eastern Pacific, where U.S. forces have targeted vessels off Mexico.
In his post on X, Hegseth wrote:
“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 U.S. Southern Command, 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.”
Hegseth’s announcement followed President Trump’s receipt on Wednesday of updated military options for possible operations in Venezuela, including potential land strikes, CBS News reported. Senior defense leaders, including Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, briefed the president on potential scenarios for the coming days.
No final decision on land strikes has been made, according to CBS News. Earlier Thursday, when asked for comment, the Pentagon referred Newsweek to the White House. Newsweek has also reached out to the White House via email.
The Trump administration, with Hegseth’s backing, has framed the strikes near Venezuela as part of a wider offensive against “narco-terrorists” and transnational criminal organizations.
Hegseth has argued that drug-trafficking vessels operating in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific pose a direct threat to U.S. national security and that the mission is authorized under the president’s war powers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Trump is determined to curb the flow of narcotics into the United States by targeting what he described as “organized criminal narcoterrorists.” Speaking with reporters after a meeting with Group of Seven foreign ministers in Canada, Rubio said the U.S. military presence in the region is carrying out the mission Trump approved.
Rubio added that Washington does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. He accused Maduro’s government—which has faced widespread election-fraud accusations—of functioning as a “transshipment organization” that openly works with drug traffickers moving narcotics toward the United States.
The increased U.S. footprint has ratcheted up tensions in the region and sparked criticism from members of Congress in both parties who are wary of the administration’s use of military force.
What People Are Saying
Mark Cancian, a senior defense adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an email to Newsweek that there is “no strategic rationale for sending the Ford to the region unless it’s intended for use against Venezuela.”
“The shot clock is now running—this carrier can’t just sit idle,” he said. “They’ll either need to act or redeploy it, and pulling back would amount to backing off.”
“The Ford is too powerful a capability to just sit in the Caribbean and do nothing,” Cancian added, suggesting that while the carrier group may conduct exercises, it is unlikely to remain in place indefinitely without further action.
Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes, told the Associated Press that the deployment “is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power once again in Latin America.”
“It has raised a lot of anxieties in Venezuela but also throughout the region,” she said. “I think everyone is watching this with sort of bated breath to see just how willing the U.S. is to really use military force.”
Dickinson also argued that an aircraft carrier is not designed for routine counter-narcotics work. “There’s nothing that an aircraft carrier brings that is useful for combating the drug trade,” she said, calling the deployment “clearly a message that is much more geared toward pressuring Caracas.”
What Happens Next
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said Tuesday that troops, civilian militia members, police officers and ruling party organizers will be mobilized for a training exercise to defend the country’s airspace.
His remarks were broadcast on state television from a military base in Caracas, where he appeared alongside a surface-to-air missile system. No related training activity was immediately visible elsewhere in the capital, but the announcement underscored Venezuela’s efforts to showcase its readiness as U.S. forces build up nearby.
