The United States recently opened a new chapter in the military escalation against what the White House calls “narcoterrorism” in Latin America.
On November 13, Secretary of Defense — who was officially addressed by the Trump administration as “Secretary of War” — Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear, which mobilizes Southern Command and a task force aimed at targeting organizations involved in international trafficking.
Hegseth stated, on social media, that he would “protect our land from the drugs that are killing our people.” The US classifies the Western Hemisphere as its “strategic neighborhood”, justifying the expansion of the military apparatus in the region.
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Although the government has not detailed where and how the operation will be carried out, sources consulted by CBS claim that options for bombing Venezuelan territory were presented to Donald Trump on Wednesday (12).
The meeting would have featured Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. So far, no formal attack order has been announced.
Military mobilization
The operation takes place after weeks of strengthening American military positioning. The US has already carried out , especially in the Caribbean, leaving 80 dead, according to the CNN.
On Tuesday (11), the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest warship in the world, . It joined other military vessels, a nuclear submarine and F-35 fighter jets that have been circling the region.
The movement is described by experts as the largest US naval deployment in the Caribbean in decades.
Pressure on Venezuela
Trump once again accused the Venezuelan president, which Maduro denies. On Tuesday, Caracas responded by announcing a national military mobilization, claiming that Washington was “fabricating a war” against the country.
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The rhetoric inflamed rumors about a possible ground attack, which Trump did not rule out in a recent interview with CBS: “I’m not going to say what I’m going to do with Venezuela.”
Colombia also entered the center of the crisis. After , the Colombian president ordered the suspension of intelligence sharing with the US until attacks on boats in the Caribbean cease.
Petro wrote that the fight against drug trafficking “must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.”
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Repercussion in Brazil
The deterioration of the regional scenario was already being monitored by the Brazilian government. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the topic to bilateral discussions and international forums, citing the risks of South American instability given the expansion of the US military presence.
Operation Southern Spear marks a new stage in this geopolitical dispute that, for the first time in years, rekindles fears of direct confrontations in the Caribbean and on the Venezuelan border.
