November 14, 2025

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U.S. Launches Operation Southern Spear

(AP Photo/John Clark)

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have risen markedly this week as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced “Operation Southern Spear” on X Thursday night. The operation, to be led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and U.S. Southern Command, will, according to Hegseth, “defend our Homeland, remove narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secure our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.” This escalation occurred just days after the U.S. had sent its largest aircraft carrier to Latin American waters, sounding the alarm for Venezuela to mobilize its military and militia forces. The Maduro regime has warned the United States that it has equipped militia fighters within Venezuela to prepare for combating an invasion. The U.S. Navy’s most advanced and largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, moved into the Caribbean on Tuesday, according to reporting by the New York Times, and is equipped with several destroyers armed with Tomahawk missiles. The addition of troops from the USS Gerald R. Ford brings the total to approximately 15,000, including those in Puerto Rico and aboard the eight warships already in the region, marking the largest military buildup in the region in decades.

The deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford enhances Washington’s ability to target drug-smuggling vessels and conduct potential strikes within Venezuela, including against its air defenses, as the Trump administration considers further military options — such as potentially using Operation Southern Spear — to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. These developments come several weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump stated, while taking questions from the press about U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats, that “the land is going to be next,” despite telling reporters a week later that he was not considering strikes inside Venezuela. Sources told CBS News on Wednesday that senior military officials presented options to Trump for potential targets in Venezuela, including land strikes, but no decision has reportedly been made yet. There are growing concerns within the national security community that the Trump administration is confusing tactics for strategy and that the United States could suffer from mission creep after designating drug traffickers and transnational criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.

In response to the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford in regional waters, Venezuelan defense minister Vladimir Padrino López announced on Tuesday that Venezuela would enter a state of maximum alert, framing the carrier’s deployment as an act of U.S. aggression. Additionally, according to the statement, Maduro ordered the deployment of approximately 200,000 troops as it is preparing “the entire country’s military arsenal on full operational readiness,” including a “massive deployment of ground, aerial, naval, riverine and missile forces.” This response likely serves to rally national sentiment. It portrays Venezuela as a target of U.S. interventionism on the global stage — a message that may align with allies such as China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba. Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, often railed against Western imperialism and spoke about the strength of a Bolivarian revolution. Maduro has adopted a similar tone, repeatedly accusing the Trump administration of pursuing regime change in Caracas, with Trump recently confirming in a 60 Minutes interview that Maduro’s days are “numbered.” Some speculate that the aggressive saber-rattling is intended to force Maduro to consider seeking exile in a third-party country, perhaps Cuba or Russia. But if Maduro calls Trump’s bluff and remains defiant, the likelihood of escalation increases drastically.

Although it remains to be seen whether Washington is actually intent on pursuing regime change, its recent strikes on alleged drug boats have strained its relationship with key allies such as the UK and Colombia. In recent weeks, the UK — a strong U.S. partner in countering drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean — has reportedly suspended intelligence sharing with the U.S. in relation to drug smuggling operations in the region. A senior Western official told the New York Times that the UK has halted intelligence sharing with the U.S. because of concerns that U.S. military strikes could be illegal and because the UK does not want to be complicit in them. Similarly, Colombia, with which the U.S. has historically had a strong working relationship, surrounding security — including around terrorism and narcotics — has suspended intelligence sharing with the U.S. so long as it continues to strike alleged drug vessels. However, recent reports have indicated that these statements were “a misunderstanding,” according to Colombian interior minister Armando Benedetti. Despite this, relations between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro have declined in recent weeks as Trump accused Petro of being linked to drug trafficking and imposed sanctions on him and his family last month. In return, Petro has called for Trump to be investigated for war crimes for the attacks that have killed citizens of several countries.

While Washington’s actions against Venezuela have dampened relations with its allies, it has also pushed Caracas closer to adversarial powers such as Russia. Russia has historically been one of Venezuela’s strongest allies, and in May it signed a strategic partnership agreement, which it ratified in October. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on its partnership with Venezuela in relation to its strategic partnership, noting Moscow is “ready to fully act within the framework of the obligations that were mutually stipulated in this agreement with our Venezuelan friends.” While it is highly unlikely Russia would intervene militarily should the U.S. invade Venezuela, the agreement will likely expand security cooperation, including military-technical cooperation. Moscow has sold Caracas billions of dollars' worth of weapons, though most of its current arsenal remains decades old. However, a senior Russian lawmaker reportedly told a Russian news outlet that Moscow delivered new Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2 air defense systems to Venezuela, though this has not been verified.

The United States is also concerned about Iran’s footprint in Venezuela, including connections to Lebanese Hezbollah, which has long maintained a robust presence throughout Latin America, including on Venezuela’s Margarita Island. In other words, the Trump administration can come up with a litany of reasons backing a more aggressive stance on Venezuela, which had been approaching a tipping point. The most recent developments between the U.S. and Venezuela mark a significant escalation, signaling that both countries are entering a period of heightened military and diplomatic posturing. The future trajectory of this escalating conflict will hinge on how Operation Southern Spear unfolds in the coming weeks and months, as well as Maduro’s response in the days ahead.