Washington.- The Pentagon announced this Friday the deployment of the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the largest in the US fleet, to the Caribbean Sea amid tension with Venezuela over military attacks against boats apparently loaded with drugs.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth instructed the aircraft carrier and its strike group to be deployed to the U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility"in support of the president's directive to dismantle transnational criminal organizations," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
According to the spokesperson, this deployment"will strengthen the United States' ability to detect, monitor, and dismantle illicit actors and activities that compromise the security and prosperity of the United States."
"These forces will strengthen and expand existing capabilities to dismantle drug trafficking and reduce and dismantle transnational organizations," he added.
STATEMENT:
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 24, 2025
In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S.…
Aircraft carrier shipment arrives amid US tensions with Venezuela and Colombia
The Gerald Ford and its strike group thus join the contingent deployed since the summer by the Pentagon in the Caribbean with the argument of combating drug trafficking, which includes three assault and amphibious transport ships, F-35B fighter jets, P-8 patrol aircraft and MQ-9 drones, which operate from a base in Puerto Rico.
In recent weeks, the Donald Trump administration has destroyed a dozen vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing several people, near Venezuela and Colombia, which has triggered tensions with those countries, which denounce extrajudicial executions.
This same Friday, Hegseth announced that the US Army sank another boat in the Caribbean that, according to him, was operated by the transnational gang Tren de Aragua , and he detailed that six people whom he described as"narcoterrorists" had died in the attack.
Tensions are particularly high with Venezuela, since Trump has ordered the CIA to carry out covert operations within that country while the government of Nicolás Maduro denounces that the United States intends to attack Venezuelan territory.
Venezuelan military will prevent the installation of a government"subservient" to the US: Defense Minister
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan defense minister said Friday that the armed forces will prevent the installation of a government"that bows down" to the United States, which he accuses of seeking the overthrow of President Nicolás Maduro with the support of the opposition.
"Interpret it however you want: the Armed Forces will not allow a government here that bows to the interests of the United States," said Minister Vladimir Padrino on state television VTV."Never again, slaves. We are a free country."
The Venezuelan military has repeatedly sworn absolute loyalty to Maduro, who has grown in power since taking office in 2013.
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