The United States has announced a major military escalation in the Caribbean and Latin America, deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier group to the region in what officials describe as a heightened counter-narcotics and security operation.
The move, confirmed Friday by the Pentagon, represents the largest U.S. show of force in South America in decades and adds to an existing deployment of eight warships, a nuclear submarine, and F-35 fighter jets already operating in the area.
“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM area will bolster our capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a post on X.
Although no timeline was provided, defense officials said the Ford, the U.S. Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, commissioned in 2017 and carrying more than 5,000 sailors, was recently transiting the Strait of Gibraltar.
The carrier can hold over 75 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornet and E-2 Hawkeye jets, and is accompanied by several destroyers and cruisers capable of anti-submarine, surface, and air defense operations.
The deployment comes amid growing friction between Washington and Venezuela, whose president Nicolás Maduro has accused the U.S. of attempting to topple his government.
In recent weeks, the U.S. military has carried out at least 10 strikes against alleged drug vessels, mostly in the Caribbean, killing about 40 people, some of them reportedly Venezuelans.
Maduro warned Thursday that any U.S. intervention would trigger a nationwide uprising. “If the U.S. ever intervened, the working class would rise and declare a general insurrectional strike until power is regained,” he said, vowing that “millions of men and women with rifles would march across the country.”
Tensions have also deepened with Colombia, after President Donald Trump accused Colombian leader Gustavo Petro of being an “illegal drug leader” and “a bad guy.” Hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the carrier deployment, Washington imposed sanctions on Petro, citing alleged involvement in illicit drug activities.
Trump has further authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, signaling a broader strategic push in the region. He said his administration plans to brief Congress on operations against drug cartels, warning that land-based operations could follow.
The recent U.S. strikes have drawn criticism from legal experts and Democratic lawmakers, who question whether the actions comply with international law. However, several Republican legislators have praised the move.
“President Trump is not messing around when it comes to protecting the U.S. and our Western Hemisphere neighborhood,” said Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas.
With only 11 aircraft carriers in service, the Ford’s deployment underscores Washington’s commitment to intensifying pressure on Latin American governments it accuses of aiding transnational crime.
The U.S. last sent a carrier to the region in 2024 for scheduled exercises, but this latest mission marks a significant expansion of U.S. military posture in the Western Hemisphere.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
