On Sunday, the United States officially announced the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Caribbean, as part of anti-drug operations and amid rising tensions with Venezuela, following a strike on a boat that Washington said was involved in drug trafficking.
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A statement from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which covers Latin America and the Caribbean, confirmed the carrier’s location after earlier reports that it had entered the command’s area of responsibility.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, carrying four squadrons of fighter jets and escorted by three guided-missile destroyers.
According to SOUTHCOM, the carrier group will join forces already in the Caribbean, including an amphibious group and a Marine unit.
Later on Sunday, SOUTHCOM reported via X (formerly Twitter) that it had conducted another strike on a boat on Saturday, which it said was transporting drugs. Intelligence reportedly confirmed the boat’s involvement in illegal drug trafficking, with three people killed in the strike carried out in international Pacific waters.
Since August, the U.S. has deployed significant military assets to the Caribbean, including six warships, with the declared aim of combating drug trafficking to the United States.
In recent weeks, U.S. forces carried out strikes on roughly 20 boats claimed to be used for smuggling, resulting in at least 83 deaths, according to U.S. data. Washington has not provided evidence linking these boats to drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the U.S. of using drug trafficking as a pretext to impose regime change in Caracas and gain control over Venezuelan oil.
Former President Trump reportedly authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela, giving mixed signals about his strategy—sometimes mentioning strikes on Venezuelan territory and saying Maduro’s days were numbered, while also ruling out full-scale war.
On Tuesday, Venezuela announced that its military is deployed densely across the country to confront what it described as U.S. “imperialism.”
— AFP
