Operation Southern Spear: US strikes alleged drug-trafficking vessel; kills four

A Pentagon official said that the US military conducted another strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Monday, targeting a vessel in the Caribbean Sea and killing four people on board. Since September, US forces have destroyed at least 21 vessels in 20 strikes in international waters, killing at least 80 people. The Trump administration says the operations — the details of which remain sparse — are part of an anti-drug offensive. Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear, saying it would target "narco-terrorists" and shield "our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people." The operation involves deploying warships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, across the Caribbean.Hegseth said that during the operation, the task force removed US forces have carried out strikes on vessels suspected of drug running, killing at least 80 people, and President Trump has signalled that land operations remain under consideration.Senior military officials presented the President with "updated options" for possible attacks on Venezuela on Wednesday, but no decision has yet been reached, CBS reported. Southern Spear will be led in part by Southern Command, which oversees US military activities in Central and South America and adjacent waters.The head of SOUTHCOM, Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, is due to retire in mid-December, approximately one year into his tenure and several years earlier than planned. He had reportedly adopted a more cautious approach than Hegseth preferred, and Democrats have questioned the legality of the naval strikes."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.," Hegseth wrote on X.