BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Launches Operation Southern Spear as Naval Forces Build Up Off Venezuela.

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.
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A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II launches from the flight deck of USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) during nighttime flight operations in the Caribbean Sea, October 10, 2025. The aircraft is assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced), part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). (Picture source: U.S. Department of War)

The announcement of the Southern Spear operation by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth marks a dramatic elevation of the U.S. military posture in Latin America. For the first time in over a decade, American warships and expeditionary forces are now operating in concentrated formations off the coast of Venezuela. The Army Recognition editorial team, monitoring open-source intelligence (OSINT) and maritime tracking data, has verified a significant U.S. naval buildup in the southern Caribbean. This includes the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN‑78) carrier strike group, elements of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD‑7) Amphibious Ready Group, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and maritime surveillance aircraft operating from forward-deployed assets in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Based on live AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals, military air activity, and port call data analyzed by Army Recognition, several U.S. Navy surface vessels (military ships that operate on the water's surface) have been patrolling just outside Venezuelan territorial waters since early November. Movements have intensified in the past 72 hours. Flight tracking has also revealed sustained operations by U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon (maritime patrol aircraft) and MQ-9 Reaper (unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance) drones over the Caribbean Sea. These assets likely support interdiction (actions to prevent or disrupt activities such as smuggling) and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) efforts related to the campaign.

While the public framing of Operation Southern Spear emphasizes counter-narcotics, the composition and configuration of U.S. forces deployed suggest broader mission flexibility. Sources familiar with planning at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirm that embedded special operations units, including Marine Raiders—elite Marine Corps units specialized in direct action and special reconnaissance—and Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, and Land Teams), the U.S. Navy’s primary special operations force, are now embarked aboard amphibious platforms (warships designed to land forces ashore). These teams may be tasked with conducting kinetic strikes (military attacks involving the use of physical force) or direct-action missions against cartel leadership and logistics hubs. This will be especially relevant if host-nation cooperation falters.

For Venezuela, whose government remains under Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian rule and is closely aligned with Iran and Russia, the deployment is viewed as a direct threat. In recent days, the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense announced the mobilization of coastal artillery units and the activation of its Integrated Aerospace Defense System. Social media footage geolocated by Army Recognition shows Venezuelan Su-30MK2 fighter aircraft conducting visible patrols along the coastline, including mock intercept drills in proximity to U.S. Navy operations zones.

This growing military tension recalls the high-risk naval maneuvers of the 1980s, but now has a distinctly modern dimension. The integration of crewed (manned) and uncrewed (remotely or autonomously operated) maritime systems, as well as the strategic positioning of amphibious assets (military resources capable of operating on both land and water) within rapid-strike range, represents a new approach. The political framing of cartels as “terrorist” threats suggests a shift in the Trump administration toward rules of engagement usually reserved for combat zones.

The transition of the U.S. Department of Defense to the Department of War under the Trump administration signals a shift toward a more assertive operational approach. Southern Spear is not merely a mission; it is a theater-level campaign with important consequences for international law, civil-military relations, and regional diplomacy.

For defense professionals, the operational and procurement implications are immediate. Firms providing long-range ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), littoral (near-shore) combat systems, advanced communications, and expeditionary sustainment capabilities will find Southern Spear to be a new theater for U.S. and partner force requirements. Interoperability with regional allies, enhanced maritime domain awareness, and rapid logistics support will define the mission’s operational success and future scalability.

Whether Operation Southern Spear remains focused on counter-narcotics or evolves into a multi-domain pressure campaign against hostile regimes remains to be seen. What is certain is that the U.S. has placed hard power at the center of its hemispheric security architecture. The message is clear: narco-terrorist networks and the states that shelter them are now within range of American military resolve.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.