The US government's fight against Latin American drug cartels has reached a new level of escalation. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dispatched an aircraft carrier to the region shortly after the latest attack on a boat allegedly loaded with drugs became known. US President Donald Trump also announced a tough crackdown on drug smugglers – both at sea and on land. However, the approach has been widely criticized.

The deployment of the aircraft carrier "USS Gerald R. Ford" could further exacerbate the already tense situation between the United States and Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Colombia. The world's largest warship is 333 meters long and can accommodate up to 90 combat aircraft and helicopters, as well as several thousand troops. It is powered by a nuclear reactor and is named after the 38th President of the United States.

Aircraft carrier thousands of kilometers from the Caribbean

According to US broadcaster CNN, the task force docked in Split, Croatia, a few days ago. This would put the group about 8,000 kilometers from the Caribbean, and it would take days for the group to reach its new area of operations, the broadcaster reported.

Hegseth, who now calls himself Secretary of War, announced another strike against alleged drug smugglers at sea on Friday. Hegseth announced on X that a ship in international waters, which the Pentagon attributes to the Venezuelan drug gang Tren de Aragua, was attacked overnight on Trump's orders.

The minister threatened to continue to take consistent action against drug cartels. In doing so, he is in line with Trump."I think we're just going to kill people who bring drugs into our country," the president said on Thursday. He again promised to take action against the cartels on land as well. Trump announced that he would inform Parliament of his next steps. He had already said on Wednesday:"We're going to attack them very hard if they come by land." He did not provide details on when and how these attacks would be carried out.

US attacks at sea for weeks

In recent weeks, the US military has repeatedly attacked boats allegedly loaded with drugs in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Dozens of people are said to have been killed. The actions drew widespread criticism, partly because the legal basis for the attacks is unclear. The United Nations called on the US government to exercise restraint.

US media recently reported that the president assesses the situation as if the United States is in an"armed conflict" with drug cartels. The US government classifies the drug cartels and suspected smugglers associated with them as"unlawful combatants."

Trump draws a parallel to religiously motivated terrorism, calling the drug cartels"the Islamic State of the Western Hemisphere." Hegseth compares them to the Islamist terrorist organization al-Qaeda.

Lula criticizes US actions

Shortly before a possible meeting with Trump at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized recent US military attacks against suspected drug traffickers off the coast of South America."If this prevails, everyone will think they can invade each other's territory to do whatever they want," Lula said on a trip to Indonesia, according to a report by TV Globo."Where then is the respect for the sovereignty of countries?"

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had also already condemned the military actions and repeatedly accused the US of murder. He argued that the US military's actions were incompatible with international law and ineffective."Firing missiles at boats" would not lead to success."The majority of cocaine transported across the Pacific is exported on merchant ships." Petro accused Trump of trying to influence next year's elections in Colombia with his actions.

US government sanctions Petro

The US government imposed sanctions on Petro on Friday, accusing him of failing to take action against drug cartels. His assets in the United States were blocked or confiscated as a result. The Colombian president denied the allegations."The decades-long and effective fight against drug trafficking earns me this measure from the government of a society we have helped so much to curb its cocaine consumption," Petro wrote on Platform X."It's paradoxical, but we will not take a step back and will never kneel."

Relations between the United States and Venezuela's authoritarian left-wing government have been strained for years. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro regularly rails against"US imperialism." Washington has not recognized him as the legitimate head of state since his re-election last year, which was overshadowed by allegations of fraud, and has placed a multimillion-dollar bounty on his head for drug-related charges.

Fear of escalation: troop deployments and maneuvers

In light of recent developments, there is growing concern in the region that there could be an escalation: According to media reports, the US military has already deployed fighter jets, naval ships and helicopters to the Caribbean in recent weeks.

The Venezuelan military, for its part, practiced national defense in a maneuver. President Nicolás Maduro said air defense units had been deployed at strategic points. Any attempt at destabilization would fail, said Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.

According to a CNN report, Trump is considering cracking down on cocaine factories and drug trafficking routes within Venezuela. However, he has not yet decided whether to actually implement these plans, the network reports, citing three US government officials. The US president has also not yet ruled out a diplomatic approach toward Venezuela.