The U.S. military deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford near South America, escalating its presence in the region. Pentagon officials confirmed the move on Friday as part of a larger buildup across the Caribbean and near Venezuela.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the carrier and its strike group to join U.S. Southern Command operations. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the mission aims to detect, monitor, and disrupt criminal organizations threatening U.S. security.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, supported by five destroyers, is currently stationed in the Mediterranean Sea. Deploying a carrier marks a significant show of force in an already militarized zone.
Hegseth Orders Aggressive Strikes on Narco Fleets
Before announcing the deployment, Hegseth confirmed the military’s tenth attack on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel. The nighttime strike killed six people and raised the total death toll from similar operations since September to at least 43.
Officials linked the targeted ship to the Tren de Aragua gang, a Venezuelan criminal organization. Hegseth identified the operation as the first nighttime assault of the campaign and vowed to treat narco-traffickers as terrorist threats.
“If you smuggle drugs in our hemisphere, we will track and destroy you,” Hegseth said, promising continued strikes across international waters.
Caracas Accuses U.S. of Hidden Political Agenda
Washington connected several targeted vessels to Venezuela, accusing President Nicolás Maduro’s government of enabling drug operations. U.S. forces recently flew hypersonic bombers along Venezuela’s coastline, intensifying speculation about regime-change ambitions.
Maduro praised Venezuelan troops and militias for coastal defense exercises covering 2,000 kilometers of shoreline. He announced on state television that the nation’s defenses were fully operational. “Not war, not war—just peace, forever,” Maduro said, mocking U.S. threats.
Analysts argue the buildup serves political purposes beyond drug control. Elizabeth Dickinson of the International Crisis Group said, “Everyone knows drugs are the excuse. The U.S. is signaling it will use force against governments that defy it.”
Hegseth compared the anti-cartel campaign to the post-9/11 war on terror. Trump labeled drug cartels unlawful combatants and declared an armed conflict against them. When asked if he would seek a congressional declaration of war, Trump replied, “We’re just going to kill the people bringing drugs into our country—they’re going to be dead.”
