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A United States naval strike force, spearheaded by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, has arrived in the Caribbean, the U.S. Navy has confirmed.
The deployment of the strike group, ordered to the region last month, coincides with ongoing operations against suspected drug trafficking vessels and heightened tensions with Venezuela.
To date, the U.S. has conducted at least 19 strikes against boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 76 fatalities.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other Venezuelan officials have accused the U.S. of “fabricating” a crisis and seeking to destabilize the country’s socialist government.
In a statement, the U.S. Navy indicated that the strike group entered the area of responsibility of U.S. Southern Command – which oversees Latin America and the Caribbean – on November 11.
The force includes the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, with a complement of over 4,000 sailors and a substantial number of aircraft. Guided-missile destroyers and other vessels are also part of the strike force.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that the force will “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that disrupt the safety and prosperity” of the U.S. and will assist in “disrupting narcotics trafficking” and criminal organizations in the region.
The carrier group is joining a significant military presence already stationed in the region, including thousands of troops, a nuclear-powered submarine, and military aircraft based in Puerto Rico.
Collectively, this represents the largest U.S. military deployment in and around Latin America in recent decades.
The U.S. has continued its operations against alleged drug boats in the region. The U.S. government maintains that these actions are necessary to curb the flow of narcotics into the country.
Earlier this week, the U.S. announced two additional strikes in the Pacific, resulting in six fatalities.
These operations have contributed to increased tensions with the governments of Colombia and Venezuela, and have raised concerns among some observers regarding human rights and due process.
Earlier in November, then-President Trump downplayed suggestions that the U.S. was planning to overthrow the Venezuelan government or initiate a war.
In an interview, Trump stated that “every single boat that you see that’s shot down kills 25,000 on drugs and destroys families all over our country.”
When questioned about potential U.S. actions on land, Trump declined to rule them out, stating: “I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that… I’m not gonna tell you what I’m gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn’t going to do it.”
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