Less than a third of Americans approve of US strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific, a poll has found, after the Pentagon announced its Southern Spear operation in South America.
About 29 per cent of Americans approve of using the US military for extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers operating in the region, a Reuters/Ipsos survey found.
The poll showed 27 per cent of Republicans opposed the strikes, while 58 per cent supported it. Three quarters of Democrats opposed the practice compared to one in 10 who supported it.
American forces have been carrying out series of strikes on boats alleged to be carrying narcotics towards the US. The strikes began primarily in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela but they have been expanded to include the Pacific in recent weeks.
On Thursday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced the launch of the "Southern Spear" mission aimed at combating drug trafficking in the waters off South America.
"Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and South Com [US Southern Command], this mission defends our homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people," Mr Hegseth said in a post on X. "The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighbourhood – and we will protect it."
The US Navy in January announced the launch of Operation Southern Spear, which involves the deployment of "unmanned air and surface vessels to help determine combinations of unmanned vehicles and manned forces to provide co-ordinated maritime domain awareness and conduct counternarcotics operations". It is unclear how the two missions are related.
The US has already positioned several military assets in the Caribbean. The Gerald R Ford carrier strike group is in the region, along with several destroyers.
US forces have carried out strikes on about 20 vessels in international waters, killing nearly 80 people. A strike on Sunday killed six people in two vessels in the Pacific.
The strikes have provoked outrage in Colombia and Venezuela, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro calling US President Donald Trump a "barbarian". Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged Americans to "unite for the peace of the continent".
Fears are rising that the strikes in international waters could precede attacks on land.
Colombia has stopped sharing intelligence with the US over the strikes. The UK this week also suspended intelligence-sharing with Washington on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean.
