Operation Southern Spear reaches $820 million total as quarterly spending falls

Operation Southern Spear, the U.S. military campaign targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats from Central and South America, has incurred an estimated $820.9 million in costs since its inception. Spending fell dramatically in the second quarter, with Southern Command allocating $173.9 million compared with $527.9 million in the prior quarter, a shift attributed to moving toward steady-state operations and the withdrawal of many U.S. assets.

Earlier phases of the mission cost $119.1 million. The latest Inspector General report, released by the Pentagon, State Department and USAID, details 66 strikes on vessels, resulting in 218 mariner deaths and four rescues. It also highlights that designated terrorist groups are altering smuggling tactics, favoring overland routes and hidden container shipments. Additional naval deployments, such as the USS Nimitz carrier group, were for unrelated interoperability exercises, while other ships were reassigned to humanitarian aid after Venezuelan earthquakes.