On Monday 8 December, the US Southern Command tweeted an announcement that the US military was deploying forces to its area of responsibility. However, one particular design element of the tweet’s image was particularly noticeable:
U.S. military forces are deployed to the #SOUTHCOM area of responsibility in support of #OpSouthernSpear, @DeptofWar-directed operations, and @POTUS' priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. pic.twitter.com/vLvg9fQ5Lx
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 8, 2025
The soldier in the image is depicted wearing a Jerusalem cross on their helmet. That’s the badge there with the cross-and-four-crosses design. Whilst it’s still used today as a Christian symbol, that’s not what’s going on here. Rather, it’s found a secondary meaning in modern times: it’s a dogwhistle symbol of white supremacy.
US military — Jerusalem cross
First up, a bit of background on the Jerusalem Cross. It usually includes a central cross potent, which is made up of two lines of equal length with crossbars at the ends. Then, in each quadrant of the cross potent, there’s a smaller Greek cross (a plus sign).
The four smaller crosses are often interpreted as being symbolic of the four evangelists, or else the four corners of the world. In either case, it has close ties to evangelism (the idea of spreading a Christian message) as a concept.
Immediately after the first crusade (1096-99) the Kingdom of Jerusalem adopted the Jerusalem cross as its coat of arms. Christian pilgrims who visited the holy land often wore the symbol as a sign of devotion. Some even had the Jerusalem cross tattooed on their bodies — most famously king Edward VII in 1862.
Today, the Jerusalem Cross forms the basis of the flag of Georgia. The Catholic Order of the Holy Sepulchure still use it as their main symbol, as does the Catholic church in Jerusalem itself, along with several other Christian groups.
Adoption by white supremacists
Because of the connotations of the Jerusalem cross as a symbol of Christian invasion of Muslim lands, and of Christian evangelism, the symbol has gained popularity with white supremacists in recent years.
Often, white supremacists will use it alongside the phrase “Deus vult”, Latin for “God wills it”. The crusaders also used this phrase as an expression of their belief that God wanted them to conquer Jerusalem.
As the BBC explained, the Jerusalem cross and other crusader iconography has seen widespread adoption by white supremacists and Islamophobes:
When a white supremacist shot dead 50 people in mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand in March last year, his so-called manifesto was reported to include references to the Crusades.
Banners depicting the Jerusalem Cross, along with the term “Deus vult” (God wills it) that was associated with the Crusaders, were deployed by the far-right during a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. […]
Last week, the US president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, defended posting a photo of himself holding a rifle (known as a “Crusader”) that featured a Jerusalem Cross – as well as an image of Hillary Clinton in jail.
Military propaganda
The Southern Command oversees US military activities in South America and the Caribbean. Its tweet announced the mobilisation of military forces to assist with Operation Southern Spear. This is the name of the Trump administration’s attacks on Venezuelan sea vessels that it claims — without evidence — are drug boats.
The strikes on Venezuelan vessels are illegal under international law. Worse still, the Trump admin has also threatened land-based strikes and bombing runs on Venezuelan soil.
The US has also declared several South American drug-smuggling gangs as terrorist organisations in order to justify the use of military force against them. One of those gangs is the cartel de los soles — likely does not exist — which the US claims is run by Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and some of his top generals.
Trump wills it
Now, as it gears up for what amounts to a war with Venezuela, the US is putting white supremascist symbols on its military propaganda.
The USA is, quite famously, not a Christian group. It is not using the Jerusalem cross as a Christian symbol.
Rather, it is quite openly using it as a crusading symbol — a symbol of a white nation invading and conquering a brown nation. Sure, Venezuela is a majority-Catholic nation. But then, white supremacists have never particularly been known for their understanding of history.
Unless they are referring to the Fourth crusade?
The fact that the US military is using the Jerusalem cross in its propaganda is yet another example of saying the quiet part out loud. The Trump regime is a white-supremacist regime. Its war on Venezuela is not, and never has been, about drugs.
Instead, the war on Venezuela is about demonstrating that the US can and will manufacture any reason it can to inflict its aggression on any (brown) state it sees fit. The one and only reason, as for so much US policy, is that Trump wills it.
Featured image via Twitter
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