Tensions Rise in the Caribbean Sea as US Aircraft Carriers Approach Venezuela

The largest US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, has arrived in the Caribbean Sea. President Donald Trump, who ordered the deployment of the group, stated that this action is part of efforts to combat drug trafficking coming from Venezuela.

The Pentagon announced the order on October 24, while the carrier group was in the North Sea, near European shores. The US Navy and Air Force have been targeting small vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean for several months, which the US administration claims are transporting drugs. So far, they have conducted at least 19 strikes, resulting in the deaths of at least 76 people.

Venezuelan leader, leftist socialist Nicolás Maduro, along with other officials, accuses the US of creating an artificial crisis aimed at removing them from power.

According to the US Navy, the aircraft carrier group entered the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command on November 11, which covers the Caribbean Sea and several countries in Latin America. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell noted that the presence of the USS Gerald Ford group in the Caribbean Sea will allow the US to monitor and prevent drug smuggling in the region more effectively.