The United States, under the decision of President Donald Trump, has launched an operation called “Southern Spear”, aimed at combating drug trafficking throughout the hemisphere. About this reportedUS Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and U.S. Southern Command, this mission defends our homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our hemisphere, and protects our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood, and we will defend it.”, — said the head of the Pentagon.
According to the US, at least 80 people have already been killed in previous strikes on vessels that Washington claimed were involved in drug smuggling.
As a reminder, on November 12, senior US military officials presented Trump with “updated options” for an attack on Venezuela, but a decision has not yet been made.
In late October, Trump denied media reports that he had made a decision to strike military targets in Venezuela. He also rejected his previous statements that he was preparing ground operations after a series of US strikes on ships in the Caribbean that the US linked to drug trafficking.
In September, Venezuela began military exercises in the Caribbean region amid rising tensions with the United States.
On October 9, the Venezuelan government asked the UN Security Council to convene an urgent meeting regarding US actions in the waters off the country’s southern coast that have been ongoing in recent weeks.
On October 23, Venezuela deployed 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S anti-aircraft missiles at key air defense sites.
