United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has formally announced the start of a major military campaign targeting what Washington describes as “narco-terrorists,” as the US continues a large-scale deployment of troops, warships and aircraft across Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” Hegseth said in a statement posted on X. “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. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.”

SOUTHCOM—US Southern Command—oversees military operations across 31 countries in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. In a separate social media post, the command said US Marines were engaged in artillery training aboard the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship currently operating in the Caribbean. The exercise, it said, supports President Donald Trump’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and “protect the homeland.”