{"id":2577531,"date":"2026-03-09T06:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/latest-operation-southern-spear-strike-kills-six-in-eastern-pacific\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T06:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:59:58","slug":"latest-operation-southern-spear-strike-kills-six-in-eastern-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/latest-operation-southern-spear-strike-kills-six-in-eastern-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest Operation Southern Spear strike kills six in Eastern Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flatest-operation-southern-spear-strike-kills-six-in-eastern-pacific%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2577531&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The report covers a U.S.-led strike in the Eastern Pacific as part of Operation Southern Spear, alongside broader context about the operation and related geopolitical news.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; On March 8, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal strike on a vessel operated by designated narcoterrorist organizations. Six male suspects were killed; there were no U.S. casualties. The action was ordered by Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan of U.S.Southern Command and is cited as part of a continuing campaign against illicit trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Operation Southern Spear began on september 2, 2025, to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the Homeland by detecting, disrupting, and degrading transnational criminal networks. Since its start,there have been more than 40 known operations with at least 157 alleged narco-terrorists killed,targeting areas in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The mission aims to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eleven-people-killed-as-us-southern-command-carries-out-three-more-strikes-on-suspected-narco-terrorist-vessels\/\" title=\"Eleven people ... as US ... carries out three more ...s on suspected &#039;narco...terrorist&#039; vessels\">improve maritime domain awareness<\/a>, support regional stability, and prevent illicit activity from reaching the U.S. The Navy describes the operation as a tool to enhance security across the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The same report also notes political developments: Iran naming Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader; and coverage of Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cShield of the Americas\u201d summit in Florida, where he urged Latin American leaders to join efforts against drug cartels and advocated leveraging military power.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Latest Operation Southern Spear strike kills six in Eastern Pacific<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2525200\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The United States military conducted another military operation on Sunday against a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific. Six male alleged narco-terrorists were killed in the strike, the latest military action in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3886847\/hegseth-operation-southern-spear-narcoterrorists\/\">Operation Southern Spear<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4479725\/us-ecuador-target-designated-terrorist-organizations-joint-operations\/\">Southern Command<\/a> announced the strike in a press release on its website and social media accounts late Sunday night.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4484074\/fairfax-county-sanctuary-policies-illegal-immigrant-murdering-innocent-woman\/\">How Fairfax County&rsquo;s sanctuary policies led to an illegal immigrant murdering an innocent woman<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4484917\/oil-prices-near-120-a-barrel-trump-says-small-price-to-pay\/\">Oil prices near $120 a barrel as Trump calls it &lsquo;small price to pay&rsquo; for &lsquo;peace&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4483613\/minnesota-taxpayers-on-the-hook-for-race-based-teacher-recruitment\/\">Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minnesota-taxpayers-on-the-hook-for-race-based-teacher-recruitment\/\" title=\"Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for race...based teacher recruitment\u00a0\">race-based teacher recruitment&#038;nbsp<\/a>;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;On March 8, at the direction of the Commander of U.S. Southern Command, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,&rdquo; read the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.southcom.mil\/News\/PressReleases\/Article\/4428166\/lethal-kinetic-strike-march-8-2026\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">release<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On March 8, at the direction of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SOUTHCOM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SOUTHCOM<\/a> commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known&hellip; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hIXMDeDKK5\">pic.twitter.com\/hIXMDeDKK5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Southcom\/status\/2030800534052196608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,&rdquo; noted the statement. &ldquo;Six male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Operation Southern Spear began on Sept. 2, 2025, as an <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/Press-Office\/News-Stories\/display-news\/Article\/4344883\/uss-gerald-r-ford-arrives-in-st-thomas-us-virgin-islands\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">initiative<\/a> of the Trump administration to &ldquo;disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the Homeland.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With the most recent strike on Sunday, there have been over 40 known military operations on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/survivors-reported-after-latest-u-s-military-strike-on-suspected-venezuelan-drug-cartel-boat\/\" title=\"Survivors reported after latest U.S. ... ... on suspected Venezuelan drug cartel boat\">suspected drug-trafficking vessels<\/a>, with at least <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/boat-strike-pacific-cartels-trump-drugs-e22afebaf86e2b71308cd569b780672e\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">157<\/a> known alleged narco-terrorists killed. Strikes from the operation have occurred in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America and in the Caribbean Sea.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Operation Southern Spear is a Department of War mission to enhance security and stability across the Western Hemisphere by detecting, disrupting, and degrading transnational criminal and illicit maritime networks,&rdquo; reads the U.S. Navy website. &ldquo;This <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >operation enhances maritime domain awareness<\/a>, supports regional stability, and helps prevent illicit activity from reaching the U.S. Homeland. These efforts reflect the Department&rsquo;s commitment to maintaining a safe, stable, and secure hemisphere.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4484850\/iran-names-mojtaba-khamenei-new-supreme-leader\/\">IRAN NAMES MOJTABA KHAMENEI, SON OF AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, AS THE NEW SUPREME LEADER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The latest strike comes after Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;Shield of the Americas&rdquo; summit on Saturday at Trump National Doral Miami golf club. He <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-iran-latin-america-china-d1cbf9af62f10e0644770f2e2b2bd791\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">met<\/a> with leaders from Central and South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. During the meeting, Trump encouraged the other nations to join his efforts against drug-trafficking cartels that endanger security in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-iran-latin-america-china-d1cbf9af62f10e0644770f2e2b2bd791\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Trump. &ldquo;We have to use our military. You have to use your military.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six killed as Southern Spear strikes Eastern Pacific<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2677,"featured_media":2577532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-y3egmcbfm-1773052049308-e1773052117816.jpg?1773037727&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[70371,13980,73056,74894,75390],"class_list":["post-2577531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-breaking-news-2","tag-casualties","tag-eastern-pacific","tag-military-operation-2","tag-southern-spear"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-y3egmcbfm-1773052049308-e1773052117816.jpg?1773037727&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577531"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2577535,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577531\/revisions\/2577535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2577532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}