Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, greets Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Oct. 29, 2025. (Madelyn Keech/U.S. Air Force)
WAIKIKI BEACH, Hawaii — U.S. military intervention in Venezuela this month and missile strikes in Iran in June enhanced America’s deterrence of its adversaries in Asia by demonstrating “capabilities and will,” the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Monday.
Those operations demonstrated “a level of excellence of integrating the joint force” that will “help to preserve deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” Adm. Samuel Paparo told attendees at the two-day Honolulu Defense Forum on Waikiki Beach.
The annual conference, hosted by Pacific Forum International, brings together military and defense industry leaders from around world with an emphasis on taking actionable steps on readiness and deterrence.
In an operation dubbed Absolute Resolve, U.S. forces snatched Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 during a series of strikes on the South American country. The couple was flown to the United States and face charges related to narco-terrorism.
President Donald Trump described the operation as “brilliant,” but many Democrats have decried the action as illegal under domestic and international law.
Some critics contend the operation could embolden China to carry out its threat to seize neighboring Taiwan by force.
In Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. aircraft and missiles struck three nuclear facilities in Iran in June.
To the extent that Midnight Hammer and Absolute Resolve were “expressions of capabilities and will,” Paparo said, “ultimately they help to preserve deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.”
Paparo, who delivered the forum’s opening keynote speech, was asked during a subsequent question-and-answer portion whether the Indo-Pacific was no longer a strategic priority given the strikes on Venezuela, Iran, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.
“The Department of War has been quite clear that the Indo-Pacific is a priority theater,” Paparo said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth understands that the Indo-Pacific theater is “where the greatest threats could potentially emanate,” he said, alluding to North Korea, China and Russia.
The White House’s National Security Strategy released this fall, however, elevated the Americas as the highest priority for the United States. The strategy focuses on controlling migration and transnational crime such as narcotics smuggling.
The strategy at the same time highlights the Pacific as a crucial region but calls on allies to spend a greater share on the region’s defense.
Paparo said he did not view U.S. military operations in the Western Hemisphere, Africa or the Middle East as competing with deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
“We’ve not seen any of those operations actually divert forces that would otherwise be used for deterrence,” he said.
“None of those [operations] have really imposed any cost at all on our ability to fight and win in the Indo Pacific,” he said.
