aircraft carrier gerald fordAs confirmed by EE UU Marina, the mayor and the most advanced member of the American fleet, he and his escort group entered the area of responsibility of the Southern Command, assigned to the Caribbean and Latin America, to intensify military offensive operations against drug trafficking. his presence ford It has caused maritime tensions in these waters and fueled speculation that Donald Trump may order attacks on targets inside Venezuelan territory.
“The expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Sur military region will strengthen the United States’ ability to detect, monitor, and interdict illicit activities and agents that threaten the security and prosperity of the United States homeland and the security of the Western Hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declared. “These units will strengthen and improve existing capabilities to disrupt drug trafficking and harm and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”
Ford’s arrival in the Caribbean rescued an American flotilla in international waters on the border with Venezuelan waters. In recent months, the United States has launched a military campaign of extrajudicial attacks on vessels believed to be transporting drugs and belonging to drug-trafficking cartels in Pacific and Pacific waters. At least 76 people were killed in 19 attacks targeting the US government.
After incorporating the aircraft carrier, the United States maintains employees in the Southern Command area of Central and South America, with 20% of the fleet on active duty, according to an analysis in the journal. stars and stripes.
Ford received orders on October 24 last year to leave his post in the Mediterranean and head to areas under Southern Command responsibility.
Assigned to approximately 5,000 military personnel and capable of carrying up to 90 tactical aircraft, Ford is the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with a catapult system and other innovations for launching and receiving military aircraft. Its attack group includes destroyers equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
Admiral Alvin Holsey, commander of the Southern Command, declared, “With unwavering commitment and precision leveraging our nation’s strengths, we stand ready to combat transnational threats aimed at destabilizing the region.” Mr. Holsey was appointed a year ago to replace General Laura Richardson, but will be removed in December of this year. Although the reason was not disclosed, he filed his own petition. “The deployment of Ford and her escort group is a fundamental step in strengthening our resolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the security of the American homeland,” the high command added.
The campaign of extrajudicial military strikes against alleged drug cartels ordered by President Trump argues that the flow of drugs into the United States kills tens of thousands of Americans each year and poses a threat to national security that can only be countered with force.
However, many experts and human rights groups have accused these attacks of lacking legal basis, especially since they were not sanctioned by parliament, the body that authorizes acts of war, and that the dead were victims of murder.
In each attack, the United States says the alleged Narcolanchas were transporting drugs into its territory and that its crews are cartel members, but it has not publicly disclosed the nature of the crimes. At a briefing last week for a group of prominent congressmen and senators chaired by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, participants called for the drug these ships are supposed to be transporting to be cocaine.
The size of the U.S. fleet is reflected in the regime’s aggressive rhetoric aimed at allaying suspicions that the movement’s true purpose is to force the collapse of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro’s regime. President Trump has declared several times that after the operation against the Narcolancha suspects ends, there will be a “second phase” that will include ground operations.
At a briefing in the Capitol, participants said there were currently no plans to attack targets inside Venezuelan territory and that the legal legitimacy the government claimed for the coup against Boats was valid for this type of action. However, multiple US media outlets have suggested that government lawyers continue to explore legal options to authorize such attacks without seeking permission from Congress.
The Trump administration has accused Nicolas Maduro of being one of the country’s drug-trafficking leaders and doubled the bounty it offered for Maduro’s arrest, now at $50 million (about 43 million euros).
Last week, the Senate voted 51 to 49 to reject a resolution introduced by lawmakers from both parties that would have forced the administration to seek prior parliamentary approval for any type of military action in Venezuela.
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