Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday the start of a US military operation to"expel narco-terrorists" from the Western Hemisphere.

In a message on X, formerly Twitter, the head of the Pentagon explained: “President Trump ordered us to act, and the War Department is complying. Today I announce Operation Southern Spear.”

Hegseth does not specify exactly what he is referring to, although it can be inferred that he is referring to the campaign of extrajudicial military attacks by US forces against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

“Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and Southern Command, this mission defends our homeland, expels 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 protect it,” he asserted, without providing further details.

Hegseth's announcement comes just three days after the arrival of the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, the world's largest and most modern in the U.S. fleet, in the area of responsibility of U.S. Southern Command in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ship and its escort group join the flotilla already deployed in international waters on the edge of Venezuela's territorial waters.

His arrival had precipitated speculation that Trump might order the start of a new phase in the military campaign, and that it could include direct attacks against targets in Venezuelan territory.

On Thursday, Pentagon officials reported a new attack in the Caribbean against a suspected drug-trafficking boat. This is the twentieth such attack since the start of the extrajudicial operations campaign in September. In these operations, the U.S. military has killed 80 civilians.

On Wednesday, Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine had led the weekly intelligence briefing that the US president receives every Wednesday. In it, they had outlined the different options for the military campaign to Trump.

The U.S. government insists that the campaign's objective is to combat drug trafficking, which kills tens of thousands of people each year on its soil. However, numerous experts, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro himself, believe the operation's true aim is to force regime change in the Caribbean nation.

Speaking to CNN during a street rally, the Venezuelan president addressed the American people: “Let us unite for peace in the continent. No more endless wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya, no more Afghanistan.” When asked by the reporter if he had a direct message for Trump, Maduro replied: “Yes, peace.”