US orders deployment of aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford to Caribbean

USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier

Named after the 38th president of the United States, USS Ford is the lead ship of its class and the newest and largest aircraft carrier in the US Navy.

The carrier, which includes a nuclear reactor, can hold more than 75 military aircraft, including fighter aircraft like the F-18 Super Hornet jets and the E-2 Hawkeye, which can act as an early warning system.

It has an arsenal of missiles, like the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, which are medium-range, surface-to-air missiles used to counter drones and aircraft.

“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.

Massive US buildup in the Caribbean

The deployment is part of Trump’s military buildup in the Caribbean, which includes eight additional warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft. It is likely to raise concern in the region about the Trump administration’s intent.

The warships will add to the 10,000 troops and a dozen F-35 fighters which the administration has sent to the region over the last several weeks.

US bombers near Venezuelan coast

The announcement of the aircraft carrier deployment comes a day after the US military flew a pair of supersonic heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, another pressure move targeted at President Nicolás Maduro.

Washington in August doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups that Maduro denies.

Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US is hoping to drive him from power in Venezuela.

US war on drug trafficking

Starting in September, the US military has carried out 10 strikes against alleged drug vessels, mostly in the Caribbean, killing about 40 people. While the Pentagon has not given much information, it has said some of those killed are Venezuelan.

Earlier this month, President Trump declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and said the US was in an “armed conflict” with them, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration after 9/11.

When reporters asked Trump on Thursday whether he would request Congress issue a declaration of war against the cartels, he said that wasn’t the plan.

“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We’re going to kill them, you know? They’re going to be like, dead,” Trump said during a roundtable at the White House with homeland security officials.