U.S. defense secretary announces military operation in Western Hemisphere

Washington DC [US], November 15: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a counternarcotics military operation called "Southern Spear" in the Western Hemisphere.
"I'm announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR," Hegseth said Thursday on X, noting that it will be led by the Joint Task Force Southern Spear in coordination with the U.S. Southern Command.
"President (Donald) Trump ordered action - and the Department of War is delivering," Hegseth said. "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," he added without revealing more details.
Earlier on Thursday, the Pentagon replaced two long-standing bronze plaques at two of its entrances in Arlington, Virginia, with newly cast, 60-pound insignia reading "Department of War."
Hegseth tightened the final screw on one of the plaques, according to a Pentagon release.
"We love everything that the Department of Defense represented," the defense secretary said. "But this is a new era of the Department of War that is focused on winning wars ... and making sure that we know exactly what the mission is and that the troops are sent there to succeed and win."
"And of course, the whole goal is to deter wars in the first place ... to establish peace," Hegseth added.
This week, Trump received briefings on potential military options inside Venezuela, though he has not approved any plan, CNN reported, citing four sources. The network said Trump is still weighing the risks and benefits of expanding U.S. military action in the South American country.
In January, the Southern Command announced in a press release an operation also called "Operation Southern Spear" in the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility, which includes the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico, the waters adjacent to Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.
It said the operation would utilize "long-dwell robotic surface vessels, small robotic interceptor boats, and vertical take-off and landing robotic air vessels" to help fight the alleged drug cartels.
It remains unclear how the newly announced mission relates to the version launched earlier this year.
U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean has reached its largest scale in more than three decades, and aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is now deployed in the region.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation