US President Donald Trump dramatically escalated a US military build-up in the Caribbean on Friday by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, a show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents Washington’s most muscular move yet in the Latin America region.
“The enhanced US force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster US 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 spokesman Sean Parnell posted on social media.
He did not specify when the carrier would be moving to the region, but as of a few days ago, the carrier was travelling via the Strait of Gibraltar and in Europe.
The deployment is part of Trump’s military build-up 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 US military has carried out 10 strikes against alleged drug vessels, mostly in the Caribbean, since early September, killing about 40 people. While the Pentagon has not given much information, it has said some of those killed are Venezuelan.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US is hoping to drive him from power.
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