The USS Gerald R Ford, the world's newest and largest aircraft carrier, has entered Latin American waters, marking the largest US military presence in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama. The carrier and its strike group, including dozens of aircraft and destroyer ships, arrived under the US Southern Command's area of responsibility, which covers Latin America and the Caribbean.
The deployment, announced nearly three weeks ago, escalates the military buildup between the US and Venezuela. In response, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced a 'massive deployment' of land, sea, air, river and missile forces, along with civilian militia, to counter the US naval presence off its coast.
US President Donald Trump has justified the buildup as part of his 'war on drugs', targeting traffickers smuggling narcotics through Caribbean and Pacific waters. The campaign has included airstrikes on boats that have killed at least 76 people in South American waters since September. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the carrier, with over 4,000 sailors and dozens of aircraft, will 'bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities'.
Analysts view the military buildup as a means to pressure Maduro to step down after allegedly stealing last year's election. Maduro accused the US of 'fabricating a new war' and described the naval deployment as 'the greatest threat our continent has faced in the past 100 years'.
At a recent Celac summit in Colombia, 58 of 60 nations signed a declaration rejecting the use or threat of force, without directly referencing the US. Venezuela and Nicaragua did not sign. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is negotiating a tariff deal with Trump, avoided direct mention of Washington, stating, 'We are a zone of peace. We don't need war here. The problem in Venezuela is a political one, and it must be resolved through politics.'
