Next escalation level
The world’s largest aircraft carrier is being relocated
Updated 10/25/2025 – 01:52 amReading time: 2 minutes
The USA has been repeatedly firing at boats in the Caribbean for weeks. Now the Ministry of Defense is igniting the next level of escalation.
The US Department of Defense has announced the relocation of the aircraft carrier “USS Gerald R. Ford” and several escort ships to the Caribbean. The aim is to take action against drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations in Latin America, a Pentagon spokesman said in Washington on Friday. The task force will be subordinated to the Southern Command (Southcom). The decision follows an instruction from US President Donald Trump.
Trump is said to be considering plans to crack down on cocaine factories and drug trafficking routes within Venezuela, according to CNN. However, he has not yet made a decision on whether to implement these plans, three US officials told the US broadcaster.
The relocation of the aircraft carrier represents an escalation of the already tense situation between the USA and Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Colombia: In the past few weeks, the US military has attacked boats allegedly loaded with drugs in the Caribbean and the Pacific a total of ten times. According to media reports, 43 people were killed.
Just a few hours before the relocation of the world’s largest aircraft carrier was announced, the Pentagon announced that the US military had again attacked a boat in the Caribbean that was allegedly loaded with drugs, killing six men. The procedure drew a lot of criticism, also because the government of US President Donald Trump did not provide any legal basis for its actions. The United Nations called on the US government to show restraint.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on Platform It remained unclear when the carrier would arrive in the region. According to the Washington Post, the Gerald R. Ford was most recently deployed in the Mediterranean and is scheduled to cross the Atlantic in the coming days. The newspaper reported that the ship was accompanied by the destroyers USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Bainbridge.
According to the Washington Post, the Gerald R. Ford will be part of a fleet that has been built in the Caribbean in recent weeks. The destroyers USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely and USS Stockdale, the guided missile cruiser Lake Erie and the coastal combat ship USS Wichita are already operating there. In addition, the three ships of the amphibious task force “Iwo Jima” with hundreds of marines and aircraft are stationed off the coast of Venezuela.
The “Gerald R. Ford” is the youngest and largest ship in the US aircraft carrier fleet. It entered service in 2017, has more than 5,000 crew members and can accommodate over 75 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets and E-2 early warning aircraft.
