Washington Has Sent An Aircraft Carrier Group To The Caribbean Sea

• 25.10.2025, 15:54

With the largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford.

The United States on Friday announced the deployment of a military fleet strike group to the Caribbean Sea, led by its largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R Ford, which can carry more than 75 warplanes, Reuters writes.

The measure was the most significant step in Donald Trump's campaign to combat drug trafficking in the region amid heightened tensions with Venezuela. Hours after news of the ships' dispatch, the U.S. administration also imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom Trump last week accused of illegal "drug distribution."

"This force will enhance and expand the ability to interdict drug trafficking and defeat and dismantle [transnational criminal organizations]," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told X. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ford, which was launched in 2017, has an arsenal of missiles, including anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down drones and aircraft, as well as a radar system for air traffic control and navigation. That ship, with more than 5,000 sailors on board, will be accompanied by several auxiliary cruisers and destroyers with surface-to-air, surface-to-surface missiles capable of fighting submarines.

When exactly the dispatched squadron will arrive in the Caribbean, Parnell did not specify, but the aircraft carrier Ford was traveling through the Strait of Gibraltar and was in Europe a few days ago. The additional grouping will complement the eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and F-35 aircraft already deployed to the region.