US deploys biggest aircraft carrier to Caribbean Sea in major power move

In its most assertive regional move yet, the Trump administration has ordered the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, significantly strengthening the US military presence in the Caribbean.

Described by officials as an expansion of counter-narcotics operations, the deployment marks a sharp escalation in Washington’s military posture amid worsening ties with Venezuela and fresh tensions with Colombia.

The new deployment adds to eight warships, a nuclear submarine, and F-35 aircraft already operating in the region. It comes as part of what the Pentagon called an 'enhanced force presence' to combat transnational criminal networks.

“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, commissioned in 2017, is the United States’ latest and largest aircraft carrier, with more than 5,000 sailors aboard. Parnell did not disclose the precise deployment date, but confirmed the vessel was recently travelling through the Strait of Gibraltar towards the Americas.

The Pentagon said that since early September, US forces have conducted 10 strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, killing around 40 people, including some Venezuelan nationals.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused Washington of seeking to topple his government.

On Thursday, he warned that “if the U.S. ever intervened in the country, the working class would rise and a general insurrectional strike would be declared in the streets until power is regained,” adding that “millions of men and women with rifles would march across the country.”

In August, the United States doubled its bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, accusing him of links to drug cartels and criminal groups — allegations he has denied.

Tensions have also flared between Washington and Colombia, with President Trump calling Colombian President Gustavo Petro an 'illegal drug leader' and a 'bad guy' — remarks that Bogotá denounced as 'offensive'.

“These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle (transnational criminal organisations),” Parnell said, adding that Trump has authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

Within hours of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing the deployment, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Colombian President Petro, alleging involvement in the illicit drug trade.

The administration has also confirmed that its most recent strike killed six suspected ‘narco-terrorists’ in the Caribbean. Trump has said his government will brief Congress on these operations, asserting he does not require a declaration of war and hinting that 'land operations would be next'.

The aggressive approach has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers and legal experts, who questioned whether the campaign complies with international law. However, Republican legislators have praised the deployment.

“President Trump is not messing around when it comes to protecting the U.S. and our Western Hemisphere neighbourhood,” Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas posted on X.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that two suspected traffickers survived a US strike earlier this month and were rescued by the US Navy before being repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador.

The Gerald R. Ford — powered by a nuclear reactor and capable of carrying over 75 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornets and E-2 Hawkeyes — will be joined by a fleet of supporting vessels, including the USS Normandy and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt, all equipped for air defence, surface combat, and anti-submarine operations.

With only 11 aircraft carriers in service, the deployment of the Ford underscores the administration’s intent to reassert military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Analysts say the move signals a renewed phase of US military activism in Latin America — one not seen in decades.

With agency inputs