Joint Task Force Southern Spear, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, conducted a lethal kinetic strike on Jan. 23 against a vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations in the Eastern Pacific. Intelligence confirmed the vessel transited narco-trafficking routes while engaged in such operations, killing two narco-terrorists with one survivor, according to USSOUTHCOM. USSOUTHCOM notified the US Coast Guard immediately after the strike to activate search and rescue for the survivor, as stated in an official post on X. The operation was conducted under #OpSouthernSpear and referenced by the Department of War. Separately, a report on X by journalist Emma Rincon stated that Mexico is considering halting oil shipments to Cuba to avoid US retaliation, attributing the development to Sen. Marco Rubio.
