The US Navy announced the arrival of a carrier strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of ​​responsibility north of the Caribbean Sea. This is part of the Donald Trump administration's campaign to combat Latin American drug cartels, launched in October.

"The Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group has arrived in the U.S. Southern Command area of ​​operations." — the Navy's Fourth Fleet said in a statement on November 11.

The group includes three destroyers, which will reinforce the eight existing surface ships. A submarine, reconnaissance aircraft, 10 F-35 fighter jets, and Reaper drones are also deployed in the region.

The deployment was announced on October 24 during a stopover in Croatia. Since then, the group has transited the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Such announcements are typically made when crossing the zone's outer boundaries—in the Atlantic east of Florida and Cuba.

This is the largest concentration of US forces in the Caribbean since 2020, when Trump sent ships against the Venezuelan regime during his first term. Experts attribute the maneuvers to pressure on Venezuela: Caracas is preparing guerrilla resistance and asking Russia to repair its Su-30 fighter jets. Washington accuses Maduro of drug trafficking and threatens strikes. Analysts fear escalation, including a port blockade.