Operation Southern Spear is officially framed as a counter-narcotics campaign targeting alleged drug trafficking linked to Venezuela’s government.

Analysts note, however, that the scale and composition of the forces deployed go well beyond traditional interdiction missions.

Scope of the Buildup

The U.S. military presence has grown steadily since August 19, 2025, when the first guided-missile destroyers were dispatched to the region.

By December 12, 2025, an estimated 12,000–15,000 U.S. personnel, including sailors, Marines, and troops, were operating across Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and international waters near Venezuela.

The deployment involves more than a dozen warships, representing roughly 10–20 percent of the U.S. Navy’s active fleet.

The most visible element is the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group on November 16, 2025.

The carrier, the largest in the U.S. fleet, brings 75+ aircraft and more than 5,000 personnel, supported by three Tomahawk-capable destroyers.

Additional naval assets include three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, one cruiser, one littoral combat ship, and amphibious assault ships linked to the Iwo Jima Ready Group, which carries approximately 2,500 Marines and 1,000 sailors.

Air Power and Surveillance

U.S. air deployments have expanded in parallel. F-35 Lightning II fighters were deployed to Puerto Rico in September 2025, with additional rotations announced for early December to regional bases.

Strategic bombers, including B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer aircraft, conducted coastal patrols during October–November 2025, reinforcing long-range strike capacity.

On December 10, 2025, two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters flew a 30-minute training mission over the Gulf of Venezuela, marking the closest publicly acknowledged U.S. air activity to Venezuelan airspace, within roughly 150 miles.

Surveillance and strike support assets include MQ-9 Reaper drones, P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft, RC-135 reconnaissance jets, and AC-130 gunships, operating from Puerto Rico and El Salvador since October.

“Rapid Strike Capability”

Beyond visible air and naval forces, the posture includes a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine deployed since September 2025, as well as a special operations support vessel referred to as “The Ghost.”

Special operations helicopters, electronic warfare aircraft, aerial refueling tankers, and combat rescue helicopters have been observed operating as close as 90 miles off Venezuela’s coast.

These assets have already been used operationally.

Since September 1, 2025, U.S. forces have conducted strikes on approximately 10 alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing 87 people, and on December 10 seized the Venezuelan oil tanker Skipper with Coast Guard and Navy forces supported by federal agencies.