The Pentagon announced that the U.S. military will send the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to waters off South America. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the deployment to strengthen U.S. Southern Command operations. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the carrier will help “detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors” threatening U.S. interests.
The USS Ford, currently stationed in the Mediterranean, will move with five destroyers as part of its strike group. Deploying a carrier marks a significant escalation in military presence across the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela, where U.S. forces have already expanded activity.
U.S. Increases Strikes on Suspected Drug Smugglers
Hours before announcing the deployment, Hegseth confirmed the U.S. military carried out its tenth strike on a suspected drug-running vessel. The attack killed six people, bringing the total death toll from similar operations since early September to at least 43.
Officials said the targeted boat operated under the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, designated a foreign terrorist group by the Trump administration. Hegseth described the strike as the first nighttime operation of the campaign. He vowed to treat narco-terrorists like Al-Qaeda, promising to “track, hunt, and kill” anyone trafficking drugs into the U.S.
Rising Tensions Between Washington and Caracas
The Trump administration has linked several intercepted boats to Venezuela, intensifying speculation about its broader objectives. U.S. officials accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government of supporting drug trafficking networks. Meanwhile, U.S. bombers conducted high-speed flights along Venezuela’s coastline on Thursday.
Maduro praised his military and civilian militias for defensive drills covering 2,000 kilometers of coastline. He insisted Venezuela seeks peace, not war, and mocked Trump’s threats.
Analyst Elizabeth Dickinson of the International Crisis Group said many in the region view the anti-drug campaign as a political message. “Drugs are the excuse,” she explained. “Washington is signaling it will use force against leaders who defy U.S. interests.”
Hegseth compared the anti-cartel operations to the U.S. war on terror. Trump declared drug cartels “unlawful combatants” and said the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with them. When asked about seeking a congressional war declaration, Trump replied, “We’re just going to kill people bringing drugs into our country.”
