The US military announced Friday that it will deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to the waters off South America. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the deployment will strengthen efforts to detect and disrupt criminal operations that threaten US security and prosperity.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the carrier and its five destroyers to join the US Southern Command. The USS Ford, currently stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, will soon move toward the Caribbean region.
Deploying an aircraft carrier marks a sharp escalation of US military power in an area already experiencing heavy buildup near Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea.
Intensified Strikes and Focus on Venezuelan Waters
Before announcing the carrier’s deployment, Hegseth confirmed that US forces had conducted their tenth strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel, killing six people. The operation raised the total death toll from the campaign—launched in early September—to at least 43.
Hegseth said the most recent target belonged to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which the Trump administration has labeled a foreign terrorist organization. He emphasized that US forces would treat drug traffickers with the same intensity used against Al-Qaeda.
The Pentagon claims several targeted boats originated from Venezuela. Analysts believe the growing military presence signals US pressure on President Nicolás Maduro, who faces narcoterrorism charges in the United States.
Rising Tensions Between Washington and Caracas
The US insists its operations target drug trafficking, while Maduro accuses Washington of plotting regime change. In response, he ordered large-scale coastal defense exercises involving military and civilian forces along 2,000 kilometers of shoreline.
Maduro boasted that the drills demonstrated Venezuela’s readiness to defend its coasts “with all equipment and heavy weapons if necessary.” He urged peace, repeating, “No war, just peace, forever.”
Experts argue the US buildup aims to pressure regional governments rather than solely combat drugs. Elizabeth Dickinson of the International Crisis Group said many view narcotics enforcement as a pretext for broader strategic goals.
Meanwhile, Trump compared the anti-drug campaign to the post-9/11 war on terror, declaring drug cartels unlawful combatants. He said the US would continue to strike traffickers directly, adding, “We’re just going to kill people bringing drugs into our country—they’re going to be dead.”
