War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the commencement of Operation Southern Spear on Thursday evening, an operation he said is aimed at protecting the Western Hemisphere from “narcoterrorists.”

The announcement comes after months of U.S. Southern Command strikes in the Caribbean on alleged drug-trafficking boats, many of which the Pentagon said were suspected of sailing from the shores of Venezuela. Hegseth made the operation announcement in a post on X, noting that President Donald Trump ordered the action.