Dept of War Announces Deployment of Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Caribbean

As the U.S. military continues targeting drug vessels from Venezuelan Transnational Criminal Organizations, the Dept of War is sending an entire U.S. Carrier Strike Group into the region.  The Gerald Ford carrier strike group is pictured below:

The announcement was made by Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell.

In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).

The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere. These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs. (link)

WASHINGTON DC – […] The arrival of the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, alongside several destroyers and a submarine, will add to what is already the world’s largest naval deployment.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the move on X, saying the deployment “will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere. ”

The warships will add to the 10,000 troops and a dozen F-35 fighters which have been sent to the region over the last several weeks.

B-52 and B-1B Lancer bombers have flown close to Venezuela’s coast in recent days, as warplanes and drones sunk seven alleged drug-running boats. The actions, which expanded into the Pacific on Thursday with an eighth strike, have killed dozens of people the Pentagon has labeled as “narco-terrorists.”  (read more)