❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Pentagon on Friday announced the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford and its Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in support of military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell, U.S. military forces, and Central and South American cartels.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The deployment was announced on Friday as part of ongoing U.S. anti-drug cartel operations.
💬KEY QUOTE: “In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).” – Sean Parnell
🎯IMPACT: The United States has executed a significant buildup of military assets in the Caribbean, with more than 6,000 sailors and Marines on eight warships currently in the region.
The Pentagon on Friday announced the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford and its Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. This will provide support for military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean. Currently, the Ford—the world’s largest aircraft carrier and the largest warship ever constructed—is in port in Split, Croatia. Previously, the strike group had been deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean in support of U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
“In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR),” the Pentagon’s Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs, Sean Parnell, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He added: “The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR 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. These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs.”
The deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford and its Carrier Strike Group to the Caribbean comes as President Donald J. Trump continues efforts to disrupt and destroy Central and South American cartel operations in the region. Earlier on Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced military forces had conducted another strike on a suspected drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean, describing the operation as a “lethal kinetic strike” against the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. U.S. forces have also begun to strike targets in the Pacific Ocean, near Marxist-led Colombia.
In recent weeks, the United States has executed a significant buildup of military assets in the Caribbean, with more than 6,000 sailors and Marines on eight warships currently in the region. The addition of the Ford and its strike group would increase the Navy’s manpower by over 10,000, with a significant increase in the Air Force’s presence as well.
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