The United States Department of War announced this Tuesday (11) the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, in Latin America, to reinforce the American fleet in the region amid growing tension with Venezuela.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the vessel will help “combat drug trafficking and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.” The aircraft carrier and its three escort warships arrived in the region this afternoon.
According to the Washington Post, The ships are not yet in the Caribbean Sea, but have already crossed the US Southern Command’s area of operations, which includes part of the Atlantic Ocean and drug trafficking routes in the Pacific.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the transfer of the military vessel to the region on October 24. With the arrival of the Gerald R. Ford, the number of American warships near Venezuela rose to more than a dozen, making Donald Trump’s government campaign one of the most significant in history.
Since September, the United States Armed Forces claim to have sunk 20 vessels with more than 75 people considered drug traffickers by the Pentagon in Caribbean and Pacific waters.
The regime of Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela, and the government of Colombian president Gustavo Petro, in Colombia, have condemned military actions near their territories. Both are accused by Trump of being involved in drug trafficking.
