Despite calls for peace Nicolas Maduro and the doubts of Donald Trump regarding the possibility of launching a military operation in Venezuela to overthrow the Chavista regime, tension in the Caribbean continues growing up. The Pentagon announced this Thursday the start of military operation Southern Spearbut did not offer specific details about what it will consist of. It’s just another step in the US Administration’s fight against drug trafficking.
The launch of the operation was communicated by the Secretary of War, Pete Hegsethwith a brief message published on the social network X. The head of the Pentagon defined this movement as a mission that seeks expel the “narcoterrorists” of the hemisphere and protect the United States “from drugs.
However, Hegseth’s announcement It was not accompanied by context or dates or specific objectiveswhich raised doubts about whether it is a reference to the maneuvers that the Southern Command has been carrying out in international waters since August in the Caribbean and the Pacific against boats that supposedly transport drugs or if it is a new step in the US strategy.
President Trump ordered action — and the Department of War is delivering.
Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.
Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and @SOUTHCOMthis mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 13, 2025
According to the chain CNNTrump was informed this Wednesday about the different options being considered to carry out a military operation in Venezuelan territory. Both Hegseth and General Dan Cainehead of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Among the different interventions that have been detailed to the Republican president are airstrikes against military and government facilities of Venezuela, bombings of the places where cocaine is prepared and packaged and the routes used by drug traffickers or even the implementation of a more ambitious plan to oust Maduro.
Trump warned in early November that The Venezuelan leader has “his days numbered”. However, in an interview with the network CBS He acknowledged that he is not sure whether to take military action: “I doubt it. I don’t believe it. But they have treated us very badly.” The American president does not want to give orders that put the lives of American soldiers at risk.
Hours before the news from the Pentagon, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubioruled out the presence of military forces in Mexico and refused to undertake “unilateral actions” in the neighboring country against drug trafficking without the country’s authorities requesting it.
Attacks in the Pacific and the Caribbean
Under the argument of combating drug trafficking, the Trump Administration escalated its offensive against Latin American cartels, which it has designated as terrorist organizations, justifying that Washington is in a “direct armed conflict”.
Since August, US forces have reinforced their operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, deploying troops and warships in the region. In September, Washington began attacking boats, arguing that they were linked to drug trafficking, and so far it has sunk at least 20 boats and killed about 80 people on board.
Nicolás Maduro this Thursday in Caracas during a massive march.
Reuters
The United States military deployment has included the aircraft carrier for three days USS Gerald R. Fordthe largest in the Pentagon, and its entire attack group: more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft.
Washington also sent ground forces to Panama, the first time in more than two decades that the US Army has deployed conventional troops to the country. But both countries have denied that this movement is connected to the Caribbean operations, which, according to official reports, have served to seize more than 34 tons of drugs.
Responses to the “threat”
This military deployment has strained Washington’s relationship with Colombia and its president, Gustavo Petroaccused by Trump of being a “drug trafficker” and financially sanctioned accordingly. Petro has rejected the attacks on the boats, calling them “extrajudicial executions.”
However, the main pressure is exerted by Trump against Venezuela and Nicolás Maduro, whom he points out as the leader of the Cartel of the Suns to export drugs to the United States and for whom he promises a reward of 50 million dollars for information that leads to his capture.
Maduro has denounced the “threat” of the US military presence near his coasts and assures that he responds to the will of the White House to promote “a change of regime” and remove Chavismo from power.
The Venezuelan president has called on the population to prepare for an eventual “armed struggle” and has ordered the creation of defense commands made up of citizens, soldiers and public officials.
Furthermore, he also announced the deployment of 200,000 soldiers and the “mobilization of land, air, naval, river and missile means” to confront the United States.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, spoke on Wednesday of being in the “decisive hours” of “a historical moment”without explicitly referring to the US offensive but calling for a “peaceful transition” in Venezuela. Some words that have further fueled rumors of a possible direct attack by the United States.