U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has formally announced the launch of a US military operation to target so-called “narco-terrorists” as Washington’s large-scale build-up of troops, warships and fighter jets continues in Latin America.
“Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR. Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and @SOUTHCOM, this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
“The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it,” he said.
Political analysts pointed to the similarities of “America’s neighborhood” and “America’s backyard” — referring to the Monroe Doctrine, which insists that the entire American continent belongs to the United States.
SOUTHCOM is the acronym for US Southern Command, whose area of responsibility covers 31 countries through South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
In a post on social media, SOUTHCOM said US Marines were conducting artillery training onboard the USS Iwo Jima – an amphibious assault ship – in the Caribbean in support of US President Donald Trump’s “priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland”.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR and AL JAZEERA ]
