World's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald Ford, arrives in the Caribbean and joins anti-drug trafficking operations
The Pentagon stated that the ship will strengthen the United States' ability to combat illicit activities that threaten its security and that of the Western Hemisphere.
The USS Gerald R. Ford
The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, was incorporated on Tuesday into U.S. operations against drug trafficking from Latin America, the Southern Command of the Naval Forces. The ship's deployment, ordered nearly three weeks ago, is already within its area of responsibility, which covers Latin America and the Caribbean.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the carrier "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."
Since September, the United States has deployed warships, fighter jets and thousands of troops to the Caribbean as part of narcotics operations allegedly originating in Venezuela and Colombia.
Maritime offensive against drug trafficking
President Donald Trump's administration maintains that these actions are part of a "direct armed conflict" against Latin American cartels, designated as terrorist organizations and the object of military operations in international waters.
International and regional reactions
The arrival of the USS Gerald Ford coincided with a new military deployment announced by Venezuela in response to what the dictatorship qualifies as "imperial threats." The regime reported on a "massive deployment of land, air, naval, river and missile means," widely broadcast by state television VTV, which showed the mobilization of soldiers armed with rifles.
The illegitimate Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, assured that 200,000 troops participated in the exercises, although in cities such as Caracas, no visible military movements were observed. Padrino accused the U.S. forces of being "mercenaries" and stated: "They are killing defenseless people, whether they are drug traffickers or not, executing them without due process."
For his part, Dictator Nicolás Maduro warned that his structure has the "strength and power" to respond to the United States and called for the enlistment of the Bolivarian Militia, composed of civilians loyal to chavismo. Maduro reiterated his order for the mobilization and combat readiness of the Venezuelan people in the event of a foreign operation.
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