US Navy Fleet Focuses in the Caribbean with the Arrival of the Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford
The Pentagon announced that the advanced aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, along with three guided missile destroyers and a total of 236 Tomahawk cruise missiles, has been deployed to the US Southern Area of Operations (Caribbean).
This battle group also includes eight fighter squadrons and attack helicopters, representing a significant increase in US military capability in the region.
The deployment, ordered by President Donald Trump, is part of a broader campaign against drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations and is seen as an escalation of pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.
Maduro called the move an “illegal threat” and warned that any possible intervention would be met with “armed resistance.”
The move comes as the United States has so far carried out 10 airstrikes against suspected drug-smuggling ships in the Caribbean, killing more than 40 people, some of whom are reported to be Venezuelans.
