Key Takeaways
- Firm Action on Narco Terrorism: The Trump administration is escalating military operations to dismantle drug trafficking networks threatening U.S. communities.
- Major Military Presence: Warships, advanced aircraft and the USS Gerald R. Ford are now positioned in Southcom as part of Trump’s expanded counternarcotics push.
- Clear National Security Priorities: Officials say Southern Spear reflects a renewed commitment to defending the Western Hemisphere and stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is putting the Western Hemisphere on notice. On Thursday evening he announced a major new mission, “Southern Spear,” aimed squarely at dismantling the narco-terror networks pumping lethal drugs into the United States. The operation is being run by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and U.S. Southern Command, which has already taken an aggressive posture under President Trump.
Hegseth said the mission is designed to defend the Homeland, remove narco-terrorists from the region, and cut off the drug pipelines that are devastating American communities. “The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood and we will protect it,” he said.
The announcement came after Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine and senior military leaders briefed President Trump on expanded military options in the region, including potential strikes inside Venezuela. Under this administration, the Pentagon is no longer tolerating the cartels’ grip on maritime drug routes.
The campaign is not theoretical. A Pentagon official confirmed that the military carried out its twentieth lethal strike on Monday, destroying a drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean and killing four narco-terrorists. Since early September, at least 80 traffickers have been eliminated in operations across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Southern Spear builds on a January announcement that the U.S. Navy’s Fourth Fleet would deploy robotic and autonomous systems to enhance detection and monitoring of illegal trafficking throughout the Southcom region. The Pentagon has also stood up a new counternarcotics task force designed to crush cartel networks faster and more effectively.
Trump’s expanded posture has brought significant firepower to the region, including warships, F-35s, surveillance aircraft and now the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier. Washington is making it clear that defending American families from foreign fueled drug carnage is now a top tier national security priority.