{"id":2086,"date":"2025-11-14T05:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T05:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2086"},"modified":"2025-11-14T05:18:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T05:18:20","slug":"us-announces-southern-spear-mission-as-forces-deploy-to-south-america-drugs-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2086","title":{"rendered":"US announces \u2018Southern Spear\u2019 mission as forces deploy to South America | Drugs News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>US reportedly carries out 20th attack on a vessel in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing four people with &#8216;no survivors&#8217;.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 14 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">14 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has formally announced the launch of a US military operation to target so-called \u201cnarco-terrorists\u201d as Washington\u2019s large-scale build-up of troops, warships and fighter jets continues in Latin America.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, I\u2019m 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,\u201d Hegseth said in a post on X.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cThe Western Hemisphere is America\u2019s neighborhood \u2013 and we will protect it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>SOUTHCOM is the acronym for US Southern Command, whose area of responsibility covers 31 countries through South America, Central America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on social media, SOUTHCOM said US Marines were conducting artillery training onboard the USS Iwo Jima \u2013 an amphibious assault ship \u2013 in the Caribbean in support of US President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cpriorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Readiness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Readiness<\/a>:<br \/>A U.S. Marine with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/22nd_MEU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@22nd_MEU<\/a> conducts battery training aboard USS Iwo Jima. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SOUTHCOM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SOUTHCOM<\/a> mission, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DeptofWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DeptofWar<\/a>-directed operations, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@POTUS<\/a>&#8216; priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kLaxdHcNKq\">pic.twitter.com\/kLaxdHcNKq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Southcom\/status\/1989084906517844141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Hegseth\u2019s announcement late on Thursday followed a report that the US military had carried out its 20th attack on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing four people earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>US broadcaster CNN quoted an unnamed US Defense Department official who said there were \u201cno survivors\u201d from a strike on a suspect drug smuggling vessel, which took place on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The attack is the latest reported targeting of people travelling in boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The US claims it is targeting drug smuggling, but has provided neither evidence nor legal justification for launching lethal attacks that have killed some 80 people so far.<\/p>\n<p>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted on Wednesday to criticism of the US attacks by its G-7 allies, saying that Europeans will not dictate how Washington chooses to defend US national security.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"largest-us-military-buildup-in-latin-america-region-in-generations\">Largest US military build-up in Latin America region in generations<\/h2>\n<p>The naming of Operation Southern Spear comes as the USS Gerald R Ford, the most advanced US aircraft carrier, is expected to arrive off the coast of Venezuela within days, which has been described as an extraordinary show of US military power not seen in South America in generations.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of the aircraft carrier adds to the already significant build-up of US troops, naval forces and air power, purportedly as part of Trump\u2019s targeting of Latin American drug trafficking gangs but widely seen as directed at the removal of Venezuela\u2019s President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Venezuelan state television on Wednesday, President Maduro accused the US of creating false narratives to justify its attacks on vessels in regional waters and threatening his country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince they cannot say that we have hidden biological or chemical weapons, they invent a bizarre narrative,\u201d said Maduro, who Washington has accused of drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>The country\u2019s Ministry of Defence said earlier this week that almost 200,000 troops have been mobilised for a two-day exercise to improve Venezuela\u2019s readiness to respond to the \u201cimperialist threat\u201d posed by the growing US military presence in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Venezuela Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said late Tuesday that US military deployment in the Caribbean was a \u201cvulgar attack against the sovereignty and peace\u201d not only of Venezuela, but of the entire region.<\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group\u2019s senior analyst for the Andes region, told The Associated Press news agency that \u201cthere\u2019s nothing that an aircraft carrier brings that is useful for combating the drug trade\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s clearly a message that is much more geared towards pressuring Caracas,\u201d Dickinson said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US reportedly carries out 20th attack on a vessel in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing four people with &#8216;no survivors&#8217;. Published On 14 Nov 202514 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has formally announced the launch of a US military operation to target so-called [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}