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.
