President Donald Trump has dramatically escalated a US military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America.
The news comes as a shocking show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents the desire of Washington to engage in a possible war with Venezuela.
The deployment is part of Trump’s military buildup inside the Caribbean, which entails eight additional warships, a nuclear submarine, and F-35 aircraft. It’s likely to raise concerns inside the region about Trump’s intention.
The deployment marks a serious escalation amid heightened tensions with the country, whose government Washington has long accused of providing shelter to drug traffickers and undermining democratic institutions.
The enhanced US force presence will better US capacity to detect, monitor, and even disrupt illegal actors and activities that compromise the country’s safety and prosperity of the US.
The Pentagon did not specify when the carrier would be moving inside the region but as of a few days back, it was seen traveling through the Strait of Gibralter and in Europe.