Operation Southern Spear is a United States military and surveillance campaign using a hybrid fleet of vessels with robotics and autonomous systems to detect and combat alleged drug trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere. The campaign was formally unveiled on 13 November 2025 by Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, on orders from President Donald Trump.[1][2][3][4]
The Department of Defense has not often provided information about what drug cartels have been involved in the vessels targeted for airstrikes, or publicly identified the alleged drug traffickers.[8]
The United States Navy announced an operation by the same name in January 2025, using the Navy's 4th Fleet, focused on integrating "robotic and autonomous systems with traditional naval forces".[1][11] According to the Miami Herald, Foster Edwards, the 4th Fleet's Hybrid Fleet Director, "described Southern Spear as a significant step in the Navy's evolving Hybrid Fleet Campaign" that would "operationalize a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters" and "help develop critical techniques and procedures for integrating RAS into the maritime environment."[1] The Operation would use unmanned surface vessels supplied by Saildrone "to monitor illegal activity in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean", according to Axios.[12][13] Uncrewed boats for high-risk missions were being used to gather intelligence by June 2025.[14]
According to The Hill, after the Navy's 4th Fleet Operation Southern Spear envisioned "deploying robotic surface vessels, small robotic interceptor boats and vertical take-off and landing robotic air vessels to the Southcom region", Hegseth unveiled the Joint Task Force Operation Southern Spear, "made up of ground, air and logistics troops, to 'synchronize and augment counter-narcotics efforts across the Western Hemisphere'."[2] The Joint Task Force headquarters are at Naval Station Mayport in Florida, with operations to begin later in November.[1]
A US official told a reporter in November that Hegseth's 13 November unveiling was "a formal operation naming for what the Joint Task Force Southern Spear ...and Southcom have already been doing in theater".[16]
On 22 November, senior Trump administration officials told Reuters that the US was prepared to launch a new phase of operations against Venezuela. Officials said covert operations were likely to be among the first actions taken in the new phase.[6][7] On 24 November, the Cartel of the Suns was officially designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States.[7]
Caine made a pre-Thanksgiving visit to Puerto Rico "as the Trump administration weighs the possibility of a broader military campaign against Venezuela";[15][7] according to The New York Times, he was "expected to consult with commanders" as sources said Trump approved covert CIA activity in Venezuela and authorized additional negotiations with Maduro, but has not authorized the use of land forces.[15]
Caine would travel to Trinidad and Tobago after the Puerto Rico visit to meet with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar; the Caribbean National Weekly stated that the visit came "as the two nations deepen their security collaboration to strengthen regional stability and combat illicit trafficking and transnational criminal organizations".[22]
↑Debusmann Jr, Bernd (16 November 2025). "What does Trump want with boat strike campaign?". BBC News. Retrieved 17 November 2025. But little information about the targets or what drug trafficking organisations they allegedly belonged to has been officially released by the Pentagon.
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