The largest and most advanced aircraft carrier of the United States, the Gerald Ford, has arrived this Sunday in the waters of the Caribbean Sea in the region with the objective of “dismantling transnational criminal organizations and combating narcoterrorism.”
He Gerald Ford It is already sailing through Caribbean waters with its escort group, after last Tuesday it entered the area of influence of the Southern Command of the United States Navy.
The arrival of the aircraft carrier, with more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft on board, . In early September, Donald Trump’s Administration launched a military operation against drug trafficking off the coast of the Caribbean country. During that period, the US army has bombed 21 alleged drug boats, murdering 83 people in the waters of the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific on the order of the Republican, who accused them without evidence of belonging to drug cartels.
The arrival of Gerald Ford to Caribbean waters occurs one day after the twenty-first attack by the US army on a drug boat, as announced this Sunday by the Southern Command.
“On November 15, by order of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Joint Task Force Spearhead carried out a lethal kinetic attack against a ship operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization,” the US Navy announced in a post on the X social network.
On Nov. 15, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,…
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom)
The operation, which lacks a court order, has ended the lives of three people who were aboard the alleged drug boat in the last few hours. The boat was sailing through the waters of the Eastern Pacific when it was attacked by a projectile launched by the US military.
The Southern Command explains – again without providing evidence – that the intelligence services confirmed that the ship was dedicated to illicit drug smuggling, transited a known drug trafficking route and transported narcotics.
The attacks on drug boats and the largest military deployment in decades in the area are interpreted. The US Administration accuses the Chavista regime of supporting drug trafficking, and does not consider it legitimate after the controversial presidential elections held last year.
The tension is maximum after last Friday night Trump assured on board the Air Force One that . After a week of consultations to define the details of the operation, the Trump Administration appears ready to make a decision on the military campaign in the Caribbean country.
“The operations of the maritime forces in the area of responsibility of the Southern Command […] “They come after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the aircraft carrier strike group to support the President’s directive to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and combat narcoterrorism in defense of the homeland,” says the US Navy.
The Gerald Ford travels with an escort fleet consisting of squadrons from Air Wing Eight, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers of the Destroyer Squadron Bainbridge (DDG 96) y Mahan (DDG 72), and the integrated air and missile defense command ship Winston Churchill (DDG 81).
The arrival of Gerald Ford complete the mission Southern Spear, which includes almost a dozen Navy ships and some 12,000 military personnel. This aircraft carrier is the first of its kind, it can simultaneously catapult and recover fixed-wing aircraft on its flight deck, day or night, in support of assigned operations.
Military maneuvers off the coast of Venezuela have drawn criticism from Democrats. The senator of the progressive party Jeanne Shaheen assured this Sunday that she is unaware of the military objectives of the Trump administration in the Caribbean: “I don’t think it is clear what the final objective of this administration is with respect to Venezuela,” Shaheen said in an interview on the CBS network.
“Which [el presidente Trump] What he has done here is put other parts of the world and Americans in other parts of the world at risk, because of this fascination with trying to get rid of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela,” Shaheen noted. “What the president is doing raises real questions.”
The White House has been increasing pressure on Venezuela for weeks, accusing the country of being a narco-state. He justifies the deployment to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, but has never released any evidence to support his claims that those killed on the ships were “narcoterrorists.”
Trump has warned that military operations would not be limited to sea attacks. He has stated that the United States “will stop drugs entering by land.” For this reason, experts expect an imminent operation on ground targets in Venezuela. They remember, however, that with Trump anything can happen and a script twist can occur at any moment.
