URGENT: Incoming reports Operation Southern has begun in Venezuela.
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) December 7, 2025
🇺🇲🇻🇪‼️ BREAKING: Trump looks ready to act on his warnings as signs grow that a military response to Maduro could be on the table.
After five days in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands the USS Gerald R Ford CVN 78 was spotted leaving Frenchman’s Cove this morning as it returns to… pic.twitter.com/i5lQFZtcac
— Defense Intelligence (@DI313_) December 7, 2025
Pentagon Provides Update on Operation Southern Spear, Reaffirms Socom Called for Second Strike on Drug Boat
Dec. 2, 2025 | By Matthew Olay, Pentagon News |
The War Department provided an update today on the U.S. military’s counter-narco-terrorism campaign, Operation Southern Spear, including the casualties inflicted upon suspected narco-terrorists and a reemphasis on how the operation’s first kinetic boat strike unfolded.
To date, a total of 21 kinetic strikes in U.S. Southern Command’s area of operations have taken place, resulting in 82 narco-terrorists having been killed, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told the media.
“Each strike conducted against these designated terror organizations is taken in defense of vital U.S. national interests and to protect the homeland,” Wilson said.
She added that the legality of the strikes has been thoroughly vetted by the proper authorities.
“Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command,” Wilson said.
Along the lines of legality, Wilson also underscored White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement yesterday that a “double tap” strike on an alleged Venezuelan narco-terrorism boat on Sept. 2 was ordered by U.S. Special Operations Command’s top leader, Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, and not Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Launches Operation Southern Spear as Naval Forces Build Up Off Venezuela.
15 Nov, 2025 – 15:28
Defense News Army 2025
The United States has launched Operation Southern Spear, a SOUTHCOM-led campaign ordered by President Donald J. Trump to dismantle narco terrorist networks threatening the homeland.
On November 13, 2025, the U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on his official X account that the United States had initiated Operation Southern Spear. The campaign is large-scale, focused on removing narco terrorist organizations across the Western Hemisphere. Directed by President Donald J. Trump and executed by U.S. Southern Command with support from the new Joint Task Force Southern Spear, the operation is framed as a homeland security priority. The emphasis is on stopping drug flows and hostile criminal networks before they reach American soil. While the announcement outlined broad goals, details about troop movements, partner nation involvement, and tactical benchmarks have not yet been released.