{"id":295527,"date":"2025-11-16T17:58:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T17:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/295527\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T17:58:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T17:58:12","slug":"aircraft-carrier-arrives-in-the-caribbean-in-major-buildup-near-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/295527\/","title":{"rendered":"Aircraft carrier arrives in the Caribbean in major buildup near Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The nation\u2019s most advanced aircraft carrier<\/a> arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday in a display of U.S. military power, raising questions about what the new influx of troops and weaponry could signal for the Trump administration\u2019s drug enforcement campaign<\/a> in South America.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford<\/a>, announced by the U.S. military in a news release, marks a major moment in what the Trump administration insists is a counterdrug operation<\/a> but has been seen as an escalating pressure tactic against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>. Since early September, U.S. strikes have killed at least 80 people in 20 attacks<\/a> on small boats accused of transporting drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, on its way into the Oslofjord, at Drobak in Norway, Sept. 12, 2025. (Lise Aaserud\/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)<\/p>\n

The American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, on its way into the Oslofjord, at Drobak in Norway, Sept. 12, 2025. (Lise Aaserud\/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)<\/p>\n

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The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower<\/a> in the region in generations, bringing the total number of troops to around 12,000 on nearly a dozen Navy ships in what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dubbed \u201cOperation Southern Spear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ford\u2019s carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and guided-missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the Navy said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the Ford\u2019s carrier strike group, said it will bolster an already large force of American warships to \u201cprotect our nation\u2019s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administration has insisted that the buildup of warships is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it has released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were \u201cnarcoterrorists.\u201d Trump has indicated military action would expand beyond strikes by sea<\/a>, saying the U.S. would \u201cstop the drugs coming in by land.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A demonstrator holds a sign while protesting outside of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/p>\n

A demonstrator holds a sign while protesting outside of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/p>\n

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The U.S. has long used aircraft carriers<\/a> to pressure and deter aggression by other nations because their warplanes can strike targets deep inside another country. Some experts say the Ford is ill-suited to fighting cartels, but it could be an effective instrument of intimidation<\/a> for Maduro<\/a> in a push to get him to step down.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States does not recognize Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last year\u2019s election<\/a>, as Venezuela\u2019s legitimate leader. Rubio has called Venezuela\u2019s government a \u201ctransshipment organization\u201d that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs.<\/p>\n

Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S., has said the U.S. government is \u201cfabricating\u201d a war against him. Venezuela\u2019s government recently touted a \u201cmassive\u201d mobilization of troops and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks. <\/p>\n

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\"Venezuelan<\/p>\n

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses civilians taking an oath to join a state-organized defense network in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos)<\/p>\n

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses civilians taking an oath to join a state-organized defense network in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos)<\/p>\n

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Trump has justified the attacks on drug boats by saying the U.S. is in \u201carmed conflict\u201d with drug cartels<\/a> while claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has faced pushback from leaders in the region<\/a>, the U.N. human rights chief<\/a> and U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, who have pressed for more information on who is being targeted<\/a> and the legal justification for the boat strikes. <\/p>\n

Senate Republicans, however, recently voted to reject legislation that would have put a check<\/a> on Trump\u2019s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela without congressional authorization.<\/p>\n

Experts disagree on whether or not American warplanes may be used to strike land targets inside Venezuela. Either way, the 100,000-ton warship is sending a message.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power once again in Latin America,\u201d said Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group\u2019s senior analyst for the Andes region. \u201cAnd it has raised a lot of anxieties in Venezuela but also throughout the region. I think everyone is watching this with sort of bated breath to see just how willing the U.S. is to really use military force.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The nation\u2019s most advanced aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,1927,23662,60187,14271,12,22048,131119,793,3502,3140,643,3,18231,154270,1572,111,18598,24265,3438,21,792,19,22,20,25,24,18232,800,965],"class_list":["post-295527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-ap-top-news","tag-caribbean","tag-caribbean-sea","tag-central-america","tag-donald-trump","tag-drug-crimes","tag-elizabeth-dickinson","tag-general-news","tag-gerald-ford","tag-latin-america","tag-marco-rubio","tag-news","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-paul-lanzilotta","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-politics","tag-south-america","tag-terrorism","tag-u-s-republican-party","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-government","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-venezuela","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}