“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 that are killing our people,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X.

“The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it,” he claimed.

The US military’s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is responsible for projecting Washington’s power across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The announcement comes amid a major US military build-up in the Caribbean near the Venezuelan coast, including the recent deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier.

SOUTHCOM issued a statement claiming the operation is part of US President Donald Trump’s campaign to “disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland,” which has included airstrikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela to the US.

The US military carried out a new strike on a boat on Monday, killing four people. At least 80 people have died in 20 such strikes in recent months.

Trump has said the airstrikes may expand to become an invasion of Venezuela, warning, “the land is going to be next.”

The US president has provided no evidence to show that the boats are carrying drugs to the US, nor has he provided a legal justification for the strikes, suggesting the campaign is part of a US effort to destabilize oil-rich Venezuela.

International Crisis Group (ICG) senior analyst Elizabeth Dickinson told AP that “there’s nothing that an aircraft carrier brings that is useful for combating the drug trade” in the region.

“I think it’s clearly a message that is much more geared towards pressuring Caracas,” Dickinson added.

The Guardian noted that Venezuela is not a significant source of cocaine, which is primarily produced in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. It also noted that Venezuela is not part of the fentanyl smuggling network, which moves the deadly drug from China to the US via Mexico.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on state television on Wednesday that US claims of Venezuelan drug trafficking are propaganda meant to justify an attack on his country.

“Since they cannot say that we have hidden biological or chemical weapons, they invent a bizarre narrative,” said Maduro.

“No more forever wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan. Long live peace,” Maduro stated in another speech the following day, referencing previous US regime change wars.

Earlier this week, Venezuela’s Ministry of Defense mobilized 200,000 troops for exercises meant to prepare for a possible US attack.

“Don’t you dare [attack]. We are ready,” warned Venezuela’s Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil.

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