The American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group are being deployed to the US Southern Command area of ​​responsibility in the Caribbean. The Pentagon announced this, noting that the decision was made to support the counter-narcotics campaign.

According to the US Department of Defense, a task force including a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier and three destroyers is departing the Mediterranean. This will significantly strengthen the US Navy's presence in the region, where B-1B Lancer bombers, B-52H Stratofortresses, F-35 fighter jets, and approximately 10 troops are already deployed in Puerto Rico.

The Pentagon previously carried out a series of strikes on suspicious drug-smuggling vessels. Washington accuses Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro of involvement in "narcoterrorism," escalating tensions.