Operation Southern Spear

Last updated

Operation Southern Spear
Part of the post–Cold War era, the crisis in Venezuela, the war on cartels and the war on terror
2025 United States-Drug Cartel Armed Conflict Large Infographic as of November 20, 2025.svg
An infographic of the conflict, including approximate locations of American force deployments and approximate locations of airstrikes
Date1 September 2025 – present
(4 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, Venezuela
Result

Ongoing

Belligerents
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Supported by:
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago
Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador [1] [2]
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina [3]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom [4]
Supported by:
Flag of Russia.svg Russia [17]
Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia (alleged by the United States)
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the President of the United States.svg Donald Trump
Flag of the United States.svg Marco Rubio [18]
Flag of the United States.svg Pete Hegseth
Flag of the United States.svg Kristi Noem
Flag of the United States.svg Dan Caine [19]
Flag of the United States.svg Frank M. Bradley [20]
Flag of the United States.svg Alvin Holsey (until December 2025)
Flag of the United States.svg Evan Pettus (from December 2025)
Flag of the United States.svg John Ratcliffe 		Presidential Standard of Venezuela.svg Nicolás Maduro  (POW)
Presidential Standard of Venezuela.svg Delcy Rodríguez [21] [22]
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg Jorge Rodríguez [21] [23]
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg Vladimir Padrino [23]
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg Diosdado Cabello [23]
Units involved
Strength
~15,000 troops [27]
1 carrier strike group, 6 destroyers, 1 amphibious assault ship, 2 amphibious transport docks, 1 guided missile cruiser, 1 national security cutter, 1 nuclear-powered attack submarine, 150+ aircraft [a] 		Flag of Venezuela (state).svg 200,000 troops [32]
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg 4,500,000 militia (Venezuelan claim) [33]
Flag of Cuba.svg 22,000–25,000 medics and military personnel (2019 estimate) [34]
Casualties and losses
Some wounded [35]
1 helicopter damaged		 115 killed in strikes on vessels [36]
5 oil tankers boarded or seized [37] [38]
During Operation Absolute Resolve
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg 2 captured
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg 2 civilians and at least 23 military personnel killed [39]
Flag of Cuba.svg 32 Cubans killed [40] [41]
One Beechcraft Baron destroyed [42]
One Buk-M2E destroyed [42]

Operation Southern Spear is a United States military and surveillance campaign with the goal of "detecting, disrupting, and degrading transnational criminal and illicit maritime networks" according to the administration of US president Donald Trump. [43] Some analysts have identified the operation as a hybridization of the war on terror and the war on drugs, and others have claimed that removal of Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela was an objective of the operation.

Contents

Amid concerns from the Trump administration around defending the US from drug trafficking, and heightened tensions between the US and Venezuela during the crisis in Venezuela, the US began deploying military forces to the Caribbean Sea in mid-August, and, in September, began conducting airstrikes on vessels the Trump administration alleges are controlled by narco-terrorists trafficking drugs to the US. By late November, with the Cartel of the Suns designated by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization, a new phase of operations began. In December, the Trump administration declared the Maduro government a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and began boarding and seizing sanctioned crude tankers. [44] In late December, the US made its first strike on a land target within Venezuela. On 3 January 2026, the US bombed targets in Caracas and other locations, and captured Maduro and flew him out of the country.

The campaign was formally named on 13 November 2025 by Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, as an expansion of an operation bearing the same name announced by the United States Navy on 28 January 2025. It uses a hybrid fleet of vessels with robotics and autonomous systems to detect and combat alleged drug trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere.

Origins and history

The United States Navy announced an operation by the same name in January 2025, using the Navy's Fourth Fleet, focused on integrating "robotic and autonomous systems with traditional naval forces". [45] [46] 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." [45] The Operation would use unmanned surface vessels supplied by Saildrone "to monitor illegal activity in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean", according to Axios. [47] [48] Uncrewed boats for high-risk missions were being used to gather intelligence by June 2025. [49]

The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), whose area of responsibility covers Central and South America and the Caribbean, [50] created a joint task force in October 2025 around the headquarters of II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) tasked with "crushing" the drug cartels operating in the region. [51] [52] Later referred to as the Joint Task Force Southern Spear, its operations are coordinated with the 4th Fleet, the US Navy's component of USSOUTHCOM. [45] [53]

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", in November 2025, Hegseth formally 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'." [50] The campaign was formally named on 13 November 2025 by Hegseth on orders from Trump, [45] [54] bearing the same name as the operation announced by the Navy on 28 January 2025. [45] [46] The Joint Task Force headquarters are at Naval Station Mayport in Florida, with operations to begin later in November. [45]

The New York Times described the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, as a "major architect" of the operation. [19]

Terrorist and other designations

Three days after Hegseth unveiled Operation Southern Spear, [50] [53] Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, announced the US would designate Cartel of the Suns—which the US alleges is headed by Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. [55] [56] Rubio stated that cartels are "responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe"; Maduro denies the US allegation that he is "complicit with armed criminal gangs that smuggle drugs" to the US. [55] The Miami Herald wrote: "The designation would effectively label Maduro and senior officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, as terrorists." [57]

The US listed the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo), described by The Guardian as "Colombia's largest and most powerful illegal armed criminal group" as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on 16 December 2025. [58] [59]

On 15 December 2025, Trump signed an executive order designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. [60] Two days later, Trump stated he would designate the "Maduro regime" a Foreign Terrorist Organization. [61]

Campaign

The US began deploying troops to the Caribbean in mid-August. [62] By late November 2025, the US had amassed the largest military presence in the region since the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, [63] and was striking and sinking vessels allegedly operated by drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. [64] A US official told a reporter 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". [65]

Within days of the unveiling of the operation, cocaine-smuggling boats were captured in joint operations between the Dominican Republic and the US. [1] [66]

Several US B-52 Stratofortress long-range bombers flew from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota [67] within several miles of the coast of Venezuela on 20 November in what SOUTHCOM described as a "bomber attack demo". [63]

On 22 November, senior Trump administration officials told Reuters that the US was prepared to launch a new phase of operations against Venezuela. [68] [63] Dan Caine visited Puerto Rico as the "Trump Administration weigh[ed] the possibility of a broader military campaign against Venezuela". [19] [63] According to The New York Times, he was "expected to consult with commanders"; sources said that Trump had approved covert CIA activity in Venezuela, and authorized additional negotiations with Maduro, but had not yet authorized the use of land forces. [19]

The US began seizing, intercepting or pursuing tankers transporting Venezuelan oil on 11 December, [69] [70] [71] and on 17 December, Trump ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers heading to and from Venezuela. [72]

The first strike on a land target in Venezuela was announced by Trump on 26 December 2025 [73] [74] —a marine facility the US said had been used for loading drug boats had been hit in a drone strike by the CIA, with no casualties, likely on 24 December. [73]

On 3 January 2026, explosions and low-flying aircraft were reported in Caracas and other locations and Maduro was captured in Operation Absolute Resolve by the US. [75]

Participation and logistics support

Allied with US

Operation Southern Spear, 2025–2026
22nd MEU(SOC) Flight Operations Aboard the USS Iwo Jima.jpg
MV-22B Osprey s with VMM-263, 22nd MEU, aboard the USS Iwo Jima (2025)
U S B-1B Bombers conduct operations in U S Southern Command AOR (9457848).jpg
Two US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers fly in formation (2025)
U.S. Military aircraft return following actions in Venezuela.jpg
F-35A Lightning IIs at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station (2026)

In addition to Trinidad and Tobago, on 19 November, CNN described the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, Panama, and Puerto Rico as supportive of the US military effort, and Argentina, Ecuador, and Paraguay as having "shown political support". [1] The United Kingdom stated they provided logistical support to the US forces in apprehending a sanctioned vessel.

Dominican Republic

Collaborative efforts between the Dominican Republic and US anti-drug agencies have been conducted, recovering numerous packages of cocaine. [76] [77] On 26 November, during a meeting with Hegseth, Dominican president Luis Abinader granted the US temporary authorization to use San Isidro Air Base and the Las Americas International Airport for its counter-narcotics operations. [78] [79]

By mid-December, the US had moved more specialized military assets to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic that would support targeted land strikes, seizures of oil tankers or enforcement of an oil embargo. [80] TheWarZone.com described the addition of refueling and search and rescue aircraft as "moving into a posture ... for tactical air combat operations over hostile territory"; [81] the deployment of EA–18G Growlers as "indicative of what one would see in the lead-up to a kinetic operation centered heavily on strikes on targets in inland areas" with "electronic warfare support for platforms launching standoff attacks or penetrating through enemy air defenses"; [82] and deployment of F-35s as preparing for airstrikes "on targets deep inside Venezuelan airspace". [83]

El Salvador

According to a visual investigation report by The New York Times, satellite imagery and other data revealed the US began operating aircraft out of El Salvador in mid-October; the three aircraft identified included the Air Force's AC-130J Ghostrider, which is "designed to destroy targets on the ground or at sea using missiles or barrages from its cannons and machine guns" along with a P8–A Poseidon operated by the Navy, and a C-40 Clipper, about which little is known. [2] The report stated that "the deployment ... is likely to be the first time a foreign country has hosted US planes that may be involved in military strikes in the region". [2] According to The War Zone, the P-8 is the "most advanced maritime patrol aircraft in the world and is specifically capable of collecting multiple types of intelligence to find small targets in vast bodies of water". [84]

Trinidad and Tobago

The destroyer Gravely arrived on 26 October 2025 to spend four days in Trinidad and Tobago, where their country's forces would jointly train with US Marines. [85] [86] Trinidad and Tobago announced additional joint training drills with US Marines in November. [87]

Caine would travel to Trinidad and Tobago after the November 2025 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". [88]

In late November, the US installed a radar system in the island nation, which is useful for aerial surveillance. [89] In December, Trinidad and Tobago approved military aircraft from the US to use the country's airports for operations that are "logistical in nature, facilitating supply replenishment and routing personnel rotations", according to its foreign ministry. [90] [91]

United Kingdom

The Royal Air Force (RAF) provided surveillance and reconnaissance support, with an RAF surveillance plane tracked over the area where a Russian-linked tanker, Bella 1 , was seized by US forces in January 2026. [92] [93]

The UK provided one of its largest naval supply ships, the RFA Tideforce to support the US seizure of Bella 1 (renamed Marinera) in the North Atlantic, [92] [94] and UK military bases in the Atlantic were used by US planes and military assets involved in the operation. [95]

Allied with Venezuela

The Washington Post wrote in October that Maduro had written to Russia's Vladimir Putin, asking for help with "defensive radars, military aircraft repairs and potentially missiles", and that Maduro had contacted "China and Iran, soliciting military assistance and equipment to strengthen the country's defenses". [96] According to The Wall Street Journal, China and Russia are "Maduro's two most powerful allies" and they have "previously provided military equipment, maintenance and training, say analysts, along with economic assistance", [97] but along with Maduro's other traditional allies of Cuba and Iran, they are unlikely to lend significant support help beyond words of support. [15] [97]

Cuba

Cuba has contributed security and counterintelligence to Venezuela's Maduro since before the US military buildup; that support has expanded during the buildup to include more bodyguards, security and counterintelligence officers, who are considered less likely to rise against Maduro. [15] [98] The government of Cuba said 32 citizens were killed engaging in "direct combat" in Venezuela during the 3 January capture of Maduro. [40]

China

China has historically supported the Maduro government with financial and military assistance, and most of Venezuela's oil exports go to China. Analysts state that its relationship with China is significant for Venezuela, but China had "stepped back" in new lending, was frustrated by corruption in Venezuela, and unlikely to lend considerable military support in the face of its own problems with the US. [15] [97] [99]

Iran

Iran has provided technical assistance to Venezuela's oil industry during the crisis in Venezuela, but is considered weakened by internal issues with limited ability to support abroad, according to The New York Times. [15]

Russia

On 26 October, a Russian Il-76 transport aircraft under US sanctions landed in Venezuela "after a circuitous route over Africa to avoid Western airspace, according to Flightradar24". [96] [15] The aircraft carried Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2E air defense systems, according to a Russian official. [97] [100]

Others

In December 2025, Maduro asked Colombian society, including Colombia's army, to join in defending against any aggression from the US. Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, denied the request, stating that no one can order Colombia's armed forces, and later adding that Maduro was a dictator but not a narco-trafficker. [101] [102] Petro has called for a negotiated settlement. [102]

Analysis

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in custody of the DEA, 3 January 2026 Nicolas Maduro posing with DEA Agents following his Capture by the United States.png
Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in custody of the DEA, 3 January 2026

Some analysts have identified this operation as a hybridization of the war on terror and the war on drugs. [103] [104] [105]

According to Pino Arlacchi, the former head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the portrayal of Venezuela as a "drug state" is a "geopolitically motivated smear campaign" by the US government; he refers to the World Drug Report 2025 [106] and his own experience, according to which the Venezuelan government's cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking is among the best in South America. According to Arlacchi, the US has taken an interest in Venezuelan oil reserves, which are among the largest in the world. [107]

An article published in December 2025 by the Council on Foreign Relations stated that some experts believe that the "scope and intensity" of the Operation indicate that the Trump administrations's goals extend beyond combatting drug trafficking to a "broader plan to oust Maduro". [108]

Reactions

Foreign Policy magazine stated that a poll of Latin Americans living across the Americas, including the US and Canada, in October 2025 showed "fairly strong levels of support among people in the region for a US military intervention in Venezuela to depose Maduro and his government", adding that people in Latin America were more "likely to support such a scenario" than US respondents. [109] [110]

See also

Notes

References

  1. 1 2 3 Zegarra, Gonzalo (19 November 2025). "What we know of the countries backing US military moves in the Caribbean". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Mellen, Riley (6 November 2025). "U.S. Sends Attack Aircraft to El Salvador Amid Regional Troop Buildup: Visual investigations". The New York Times. ProQuest   3269372886. Archived from the original on 6 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Secretary Rubio's Call with Argentine Foreign Minister Quirno". US Department of State. 6 January 2026.
  4. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (7 January 2026). "UK helped US seize Russian-flagged tanker, defence ministry says". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  5. ↑ Samuels, Brett (16 December 2025). "Trump labels Maduro regime terrorist organization, orders blockade of sanctioned oil tankers". The Hill. Archived from the original on 17 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Pierson, Brendan (14 December 2017). "Nephews of Venezuela's first lady sentenced to 18 years in U.S. drug case". Reuters . Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
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  10. 1 2 "US targets Venezuela over 'Soles' cartel. Does it exist?". France24. 28 August 2025. Archived from the original on 29 August 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
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  14. ↑ While the involvement of various Venezuelan government and military officials with drug cartels has been documented, [9] independent experts dispute the existence of an organized cartel run by these officials. [13]
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  18. ↑ Michael Crowley; Edward Wong (12 December 2025). "For Rubio the Cuba Hawk, the Road to Havana Runs Through Venezuela". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 13 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Schmitt, Eric (23 November 2025). "Top U.S. Military Officer to Visit Caribbean as Trump Pressures Venezuela". The New York Times. ProQuest   3274690895. Archived from the original on 23 November 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  20. ↑ Woodward, Alex; Feinberg, Andrew (1 December 2025). "White House says admiral directed second strike that killed alleged drug boat survivors in 'self defense'". The Independent . Archived from the original on 1 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  21. 1 2 Antonio María Delgado (8 December 2025). "Venezuelan ex-general claims Rodríguez siblings run Maduro's criminal regime". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on 7 January 2026. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
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  23. 1 2 3 Efrat Lachter (13 December 2025). "Maduro's heirs: human rights violators, corrupt enforcers and ruthless loyalists". AOL. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  24. ↑ Roston, Aram (21 October 2025). "CIA playing 'most important part' in US strikes in the Caribbean, sources say". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 October 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
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  26. ↑ "Venezuela's Army is Trying to Block Entrances to Presidential Palace in Capital". Archived from the original on 3 January 2026.
  27. 1 2 Bertrand, Natasha; Schmitz, Avery (18 November 2025). "Here's what the US military has positioned as Trump pressures Venezuela". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 October 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Trevithick, Joseph (3 January 2026). "RQ-170 Sentinel Stealth Drone Supported Maduro Capture Mission". The War Zone. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  29. 1 2 Newdick, Thomas (3 January 2026). "Destruction Seen At Caracas Base That Was A Focus Of The U.S. Military Operation". The War Zone. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  30. 1 2 Rogoway, Tyler; Newdick, Thomas (5 January 2026). "This Is What The Night Stalkers' MH-60M Direct Action Penetrator Brought To The Venezuelan Op". The War Zone. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
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  33. ↑ "How Venezuela's aging Soviet-era military stacks up against US forces in the Caribbean". CNN. 13 November 2025. Archived from the original on 13 November 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  34. ↑ Por C Adams (22 April 2019). "Cuba's "army" in Venezuela: doctors or soldiers?". Univision News. Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  35. ↑ "Venezuelan Official Says at Least 40 People Were Killed in U.S. Attack". The New York Times. 3 January 2026. Archived from the original on 4 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  36. ↑ Patil, Anushka (31 December 2025) [28 October 2025]. "A Timeline of Trump's Strikes on Vessels He Says Are Smuggling Drugs". The New York Times. ProQuest   3265933275. Archived from the original on 28 October 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  37. ↑ Triebert, Christiaan; Schmitt, Eric; Nehamas, Nicholas (9 January 2026). "U.S. Boards Another Tanker Carrying Venezuelan Oil". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  38. ↑ Raanan, Tomer (9 January 2026). "Update: US boards fifth sanctioned tanker". Lloyd's List . Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  39. ↑ Rascius, Brendan (6 January 2026). "Death toll from US mission to capture Nicolas Maduro rises". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026. ... at least 32 Cuban fighters, 23 Venezuelan soldiers and two civilians, according to the BBC, citing local media
  40. 1 2 Rasheed, Zaheena (5 January 2026). "Cuba says 32 Cubans killed during US raids on Venezuela". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 7 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
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  42. 1 2 "Incident Beechcraft Barron?, Saturday 3 January 2026". Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved 4 January 2026.
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  53. 1 2 Timotija, Filip (16 November 2025). "US military kills 3 'narco-terrorists' in Eastern Pacific as USS Gerald Ford arrives in Caribbean". The Hill . Archived from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  54. ↑ "Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group Enters Caribbean Sea" (Press release). United States Southern Command. 16 November 2025. Archived from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  55. 1 2 "U.S. to designate Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization as USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrives in Caribbean". CBS News. 16 November 2025. Archived from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  56. ↑ Rubio, Marco (16 November 2025). "Terrorist Designations of Cartel de los Soles" (Press release). US Department of State. Archived from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  57. ↑ Delgado, Antonio María (17 November 2025). "With U.S. warships massing offshore, new terror label seen as final deadline for Maduro". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 7 January 2026. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  58. ↑ Rogero, Tiago (16 December 2025). "US designates Colombia's biggest drug cartel Gulf Clan as terrorist organization". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  59. ↑ "Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation of Clan del Golfo" (PDF). U.S. Department of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2026.
  60. ↑ Bazail-Eimil, Eric; Detsch, Jack (15 December 2025). "Trump declares fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction". Politico. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  61. ↑ Samuels, Brett (16 December 2025). "Trump labels Maduro regime terrorist organization, orders blockade of sanctioned oil tankers". The Hill. Archived from the original on 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  62. ↑ Holland, Steve (18 August 2025). "US deploys warships near Venezuela to combat drug threats, sources say". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  63. 1 2 3 4 Altman, Howard (24 November 2025). "U.S. Pressure Campaign Against Venezuela Has Entered A New Phase". The War Zone. Archived from the original on 24 November 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  64. ↑ Cancian, Mark F.; Park, Chris H. (10 November 2025). "Trump's Caribbean Campaign: The Data Behind Operation Southern Spear". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025.
  65. ↑ Vincent, Brandi (14 November 2025). "Hegseth announces Operation Southern Spear after 20th US strike against alleged 'narco-terrorists'". Defensescoop.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2005.
  66. ↑ "Joint Dominican-U.S. operation halts alleged cocaine-smuggling boat". CTV News/Agence France-Presse. 15 November 2025. Archived from the original on 15 November 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
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