Trump Unleashes ‘Operation Southern Spear’ As Caribbean Standoff Escalates

 

 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday launched Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR, a sweeping new military campaign deploying nearly a dozen U.S. Navy ships and 12,000 sailors and Marines to target what the Trump administration calls “narco-terrorists” operating from Venezuelan waters.

 

Hegseth, declaring that “the Department of War is delivering,” said the mission will be run through Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM, framing it as a hemispheric defensive action ordered directly by President Trump. The spearpoint of the operation is the USS Gerald R. Ford, now steaming into the Caribbean as Washington massively expands its military footprint off South America.

 

Trump has justified recent lethal strikes on small Venezuelan vessels as necessary to stop drug flows into the United States, asserting the country is engaged in an “armed conflict” with cartels — and citing the same legal rationale used after 9/11. But the attacks have unfolded without congressional authorization, evidence disclosures, or formal investigations, sparking a fierce constitutional fight on Capitol Hill.

 

AP reporting shows several of those killed were not cartel operatives, and lawmakers from both parties now accuse the White House of stonewalling. Rep. Adam Smith blasted the administration’s “staggering lack of transparency,” while officials involved in the strikes have refused to show Congress proof linking the boats to narcotics trafficking.

 

Fueling the political fire is Trump’s escalating rhetoric. In a recent press conference, he would not commit to seeking approval for potential land strikes in Venezuela, saying: “I think we’re just gonna kill people… They’re gonna be, like, dead.” He added that ground operations “are going to be next.”

 

Analysts warn the campaign may be a pretext for toppling Nicolás Maduro — whom Trump has labelled a “narco-terrorist” — despite U.S. intelligence assessments contradicting Trump’s claims that Maduro is aligned with the violent Tren de Aragua gang. The Biden-era Justice Department did indict Maduro in 2020 for running a criminal narco-state, but intelligence officials say Trump’s latest allegations stretch beyond verified evidence.

 

With an expanding naval armada, talk of Special Forces plans “awaiting authorization,” and the administration purging senior military leaders who oppose its “warrior ethos,” fears of a Venezuela invasion are intensifying. What began as targeted maritime strikes is fast mutating into a full-scale geopolitical showdown.

 

Key Takeaways

• Hegseth unveils Operation Southern Spear as the U.S. surges naval power into the Caribbean.

• Trump’s strikes on Venezuelan vessels spark a constitutional clash over war powers and evidence.

• Analysts fear the campaign may mask preparations for an operation to oust Maduro.

 

Source: EXPRESS US

 

 

 

 

 

Oh boy.....this email release has him really rattled.

When will Asia become a Trump target?

Will the real terrorist please stand up? This just in from ISIS: “I think we’re just gonna kill people… They’re gonna be, like, dead.”

 

What we're seeing is terror used for deflection, to show how big a d*ck the big man is, oh, has.

Venezuela should not have conspired with Dominion in order to rig the 2020 election and prevent Trump from winning!   

 

 

9 minutes ago, candide said:

Venezuela should not have conspired with Dominion in order to rig the 2020 election and prevent Trump from winning!   

 

 

All US needs to do is apprehend Chavez. Should be easy to find.