Hegseth announces Operation Southern Spear targeting narco-terrorists across Western Hemisphere

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear on Nov. 14, 2025, deploying U.S. Southern Command and a new Joint Task Force to target narco-terror networks across Latin America. Since September, the U.S. had conducted 20 lethal strikes killing at least 80 people deemed "narco-terrorists." The operation deployed robotic surface vessels and surveillance drones near Venezuela. The UN human rights chief condemned the strikes as unlawful extrajudicial killings.