NOVEMBER 13, 2025 – Today, Pete Hegseth announced Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.
Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.
The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.
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.
“Southern Spear will operationalize a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters,” said Cmdr. Foster Edwards, 4th Fleet’s Hybrid Fleet Director. “Southern Spear will continue our (4th Fleet’s) move away from short-duration experimentation into long-duration operations that will help develop critical techniques and procedures in integrating RAS into the maritime environment.”
Specifically, Operation Southern Spear will deploy long-dwell robotic surface vessels, small robotic interceptor boats, and vertical take-off and landing robotic air vessels to the USSOUTHCOM AOR. 4th Fleet will operationalize these unmanned systems through integration with U.S. Coast Guard cutters at sea and operations centers at 4th Fleet and Joint Interagency Task Force South. Southern Spear’s results will help determine combinations of unmanned vehicles and manned forces needed to provide coordinated maritime domain awareness and conduct counternarcotics operations.
U.S. 4th Fleet is conducting Operation Southern Spear in support of our Navy’s Project 33 targets to operationalize RAS. Using RAS to increase presence in, and awareness of, strategically and economically important maritime regions will help decision-making, strengthen sovereignty, and facilitate regional cooperation.
“Operation Southern Spear is the next step in our Hybrid Fleet Campaign,” said Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet. “We look forward to the results of Southern Spear. Hybrid Fleet operations increase our collaboration with partners in the region while furthering the Navy’s tactics, techniques, procedures, and processes.”
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet is the trusted maritime partner for Caribbean, Central and South America maritime forces leading to improved unity, security and stability.
To those who wonder about what’s going on in Venezuela, you should understand President Trump is deadly serious about stopping the narcoterrorist state of Venezuela from continuing to poison Americans with illegal drugs.
President Trump also believes Maduro is an illegitimate leader whose days are numbered. I agree with President Trump’s assessment of the situation in Venezuela.
I do not consider Maduro a legitimate leader but rather, a drug trafficker who has been indicted in U.S. courts.
Bush 41 took Panamanian leader Noriega down under similar circumstances. There is a drug caliphate in our backyard that includes Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba.
I am very glad President Trump is dedicated to ending this reign of terror. The sooner Maduro leaves, the better for the people of Venezuela and the United States.