U.S. Warship Build-Up Near Venezuela Fuels Fears Of Escalation
The world’s largest aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford — has arrived in the area around the Caribbean, marking the biggest U.S. naval buildup in the region in decades. Venezuela is responding, putting its entire military arsenal of about 200,000 soldiers at the ready.
The USS Gerald Ford joins eight warships, a nuclear submarine, F-35 jets, and about 15,000 U.S. military personnel that have been built up in recent months.
Military analysts say you’d have to go back to the 1980s or even the Cuban Missile Crisis to see this many American vessels in the area.
It comes as the Trump administration continues a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in international waters, in what’s being framed as a “war on narco-terrorism.” The moves have fueled speculation about the Trump administration's intentions, which could go as far as regime change in Venezuela.
ESCALATING TENSIONS
So far, there have been at least 19 U.S. strikes killing 76 people across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The most recent was reported on Sunday. The White House alleges that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is running one of the cartels out of Venezuela, and has a $50 million U.S. bounty on his head.
Members of Congress in both parties have raised alarms about the escalating attacks. The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed some members of Congress last week on the mission’s scope.
The Washington Post reports that administration officials told lawmakers that there are no active preparations for attacks on Venezuela.
UK INTELLIGENCE SHARING: The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, according to reporting from CNN.
The decision shows growing skepticism from one of the U.S.’s biggest allies about its current military campaign around Latin America.
The big question: How far will this “war on narco-terrorism” go — and will it turn into something much bigger. Experts note that an aircraft carrier is not optimal for counter-drug operations, but for larger military operations.