An M1 Abrams tank during the United States Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, D.C. June 14, 2025. Image Wikipedia.

In an escalation of militarism toward Latin America, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the start of Operation Southern Spear to target so-called “narco-terrorists.” This comes as the United States deploys Marines, naval assets, and even the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Southern Caribbean.

The primary target of this aggression is Venezuela. Trump has not explicitly stated that his end goal is to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but such a scenario cannot be ruled out. Even if the Trump administration does not go as far as full-scale regime change, any number of attacks on Venezuelan sovereignty, including military strikes on Venezuelan soil, are on the table.

The United States has for months been attacking boats around Venezuela, claiming with no evidence that these vessels were being used for drug trafficking. The United States military has already killed about 80 people in these attacks.

Writing in La Izquierda Diario, Milton D’Leon explains:

Far from being a simple “anti-narcotics mission,” as the Pentagon disguises it, this unprecedented military deployment in the Caribbean is a threat of open war and a key piece in the imperialist aggression strategy. The official justification—the........

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