A powerful US aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, entered Latin American waters on Tuesday, sharply escalating military tensions in the region. The move prompted Venezuela to announce a massive counter-deployment of its armed forces, stoking fears that a potential confrontation may be brewing in the Caribbean.
According to the US Naval Forces Southern Command, the Ford and its accompanying vessels are operating under a regional mission aimed at “countering drug trafficking” across Latin America and the Caribbean. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the deployment would strengthen Washington’s capacity to “detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities” that threaten the US homeland and regional security.
The Trump administration has launched an extensive anti-narcotics military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, involving advanced F-35 fighter jets stationed in Puerto Rico and six additional US Navy ships patrolling nearby waters. However, Caracas has condemned the mission as a thinly disguised regime-change effort targeting President Nicolás Maduro, whose government remains under US sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
Maduro accused Washington of “fabricating a war” to justify intervention, while Trump — though downplaying the possibility of direct conflict — recently declared that “Maduro’s days are numbered.”
The US military has conducted at least 20 strikes on vessels in regional waters since September, killing 76 people, according to official figures. Washington insists the targets were drug traffickers, but has not presented proof. Human rights observers have called the operations extrajudicial killings, warning that they may violate international law.
In response, Venezuela’s Defence Ministry announced a “massive deployment” of land, air, naval, missile, and militia forces across the country to counter what it termed “imperial aggression.” State television (VTV) broadcast scenes of generals delivering speeches and troops mobilising, though experts note that Caracas’s forces remain ill-equipped and undisciplined compared with the US military.
Russia, a close ally of Maduro, condemned Washington’s actions as “illegal and provocative.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the US strikes as “lawless acts under the pretext of fighting drugs,” warning that Moscow would stand by Venezuela “against imperial coercion.”
The confrontation comes amid deteriorating US-Russia relations and growing Western unease over Washington’s unilateral use of force. The United Kingdom declined to confirm reports that it had halted intelligence-sharing on Caribbean drug smuggling out of fear of complicity in potential US attacks. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated London’s alliance with Washington but declined further comment, saying, “Decisions on this are a matter for the US.”
While Venezuela’s military posturing may be largely symbolic, analysts warn that miscalculations or provocations at sea could ignite a regional crisis — one that drags in outside powers like Russia and deepens instability across Latin America.
